


.") ■'.■■•Mv 





















'"-1 <,'/>•/,.•>- i-, •"■■. , ■ 
7•^V''r•*'.•l'«'l'■-■•^'■"s■•' , . 



'%:. 










, i.^'-t I. f> -J '.»•.-*■ i; .■■^. ■ ■.x j: ',',/■■■!■"; ,'i',-i ■.•-:■':■".■ 



FARMING 

A. S IT IS! 



AN 



OBIGINAL TEEATISE ON AGRICDITUKE, 



WITH THE 



RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF FARMERS. 

/ 

BY T. J. PINKHAM, 



^ 



We will speak out, we will be heard. 
Though all earth's systems craok ; 

We willnot bate a single word, 
Nor take a letter back." 



AUDI ALTERAM PARTEM." 



BOSTON: 
BRADLEY, DAYTON & COMPANY, 

1860. 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1860, by 

T.J. PINKHAM, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. 



Printed by 

Bazin & Chandi^b, 

37 Comhill. 



TO 

^t immm at g^to inglanJ^, 

AND 

ALL WORK-PEOPLE E V B R Y W H E K E , 

THIS WORK 

13 

MOST CORDIALLY DEDICATED, 

BY 

your friend and fellow citizen, 

The Author. 



PRE FACE, 



For some time it has been my firm conviction that the Agricul- 
turalists in this country were laboring under many evils, and that 
the tendency of some of the institutions and laws of the States 
and the General Government, was to fasten these evils more firmly 
upon the people, that the non-producers may be benefited by the 
over-exertion of the laboring community. Thus I have spent 
some time and much thought, in coming at some conclusions by 
which a better and wiser system can be introduced among the peo- 
ple, that a more perfect equality may obtain. What I have com- 
mitted to paper is but a fair reflex of the ideas that have long been 
fixed in my mind, and that although nearly all the views are orig- 
inal, — taking new grounds, and arriving at conclusions that are 
in antagonism with the ideas of most Agricultural writers, yet I 
have aimed at a truthful delineation of the facts as they exist, — 
suggesting such remedies as seemed to me wise and for the gen- 
eral good. 

If those who have set themselves up as teachers of the people 
in Agricultural matters, shall discover that I have committed any 
errors in my facts or conclusions, or in the philosophy of my rea- 
soning, there is no one who will be more ready than myself to be 
set right in the matter ; as my only purpose is to disseminate cor- 
rect principles, and entertaining no feai's of a thorough investiga- 
tion, where the object is that the people, and not individuals, are 
to be benefited. 

Nothing would suit me better than to see the farmers of the 
rural districts wake up to a thorough investigation of all the mat- 



Tl PEEFACE. 

ters pertaining to their rights and interests, yielding to all what is 
right, and submitting to nothing that is clearly wrong. If you 
believe that I have spoken truly, and suggested anything that is of 
value to yourselves and the people, then keep up the investigation, 
and frown down the idea that inquiry must be stifled, and your 
rights subverted. 

And to the mechanic and laborer, let me enjoin upon you the 
importance, to j'ou and your children, of a constant watchfulness 
of your rights ; affording all the time that is necessary, to stay the 
insinuating grasp of the cunning, lest capital becomes the tyrant 
in this country, also, to oppress and dishonor labor. 

If at any time my language has been such as to convey a differ- 
ent meaning from what I intended, or is capable of a double mean- 
ing, I regret it. I have endeavored to talk about things, using 
words only to convey ideas, preferring the substance to the shadow, 
believing that the true office of language is to express thoughts, 
rather than words. 

I have considered this tampering by the State and National 
Government with the industrial institutions of the country, as in- 
volving important National interests and policy, the end of which 
seriously involves the best good of the people, and is not in har- 
mony with a government obtaining all its powers from the govern- 
ed. And as furnishing argument sustaining this position, I have 
frequently had recourse to public statements and declarations of 
individuals, looking upon thtm as public property ; my only motive 
or reierring lo tnem was as furnishing the most intelligent and 
comprehensive arguments sustaining my position. Therefore, I 
desire all to take this view of the matter, as individual rights, in 
some degree, in all civilized communities, must succumb to the 
public good. 

Individuals, being units, should never consent to become 
ciphers, — their aggregate, nations, — and although man's first 
duty is to himself, yet that self, if rightly understood, is in har- 
mony with the whole. 

Having spent some time and thought reflecting upon the expe- 
diency of any legislation in regard to the industry of our country. 



PREFACE. Vii 

and looking down into the long future, reasoning from analogy, 
from history, and the laws of a people, I am fully persuaded that 
it is highly pernicious, having a tendency to degrade us as a nation. 
Therefore, I have briefly, possibly too freely, written out these 
thoughts in connection with the influence this has had, and is hav- 
ing, upon the habits and livelihood of the American people, in 
these pages, and submit them with all deference to the verdict of 
my brother workers. 

If the kind reader agrees with me, after giving this work a care- 
ful perusal, then it is his duty and privilege, as it is mine, to give 
currency and circulation to the principles here advocated ; and 
touching this point, I am ready to hear any suggestions by letter 
or otherwise, in regard to the best means to place them generally 
among the people. 

I shall retain the right to manufacture this work in my own 
hands, availing myself of fresh statistics as they come to hand, for 
subsequent editions ; also, making from time to time such other 
additions, alterations and improvements, as a larger experience 
may suggest. T. J. P. 



INTRODUCTION, 



TO THE READER. 



In presenting this little work to the public, the writer begs 
leave to say that he has for a long time thought that there was a 
positive necessity existing in New England, to arrest, if possible, 
the alarming and growing evils which pervade her Agricultural in- 
terests ; and from these spreading out into society in general, per- 
meating throughout all classes, and every year reducing the wages 
of unskilled and honest labor. Not that this class of labor, of 
which I speak and shall speak throughout these pages, receives 
fewer dollars and cents, nominally, but that the demands upon the 
laborer, by society and intei;course with men, are continually aug- 
menting ; making it more difficult to sustain their former position ; 
consequently, every year widening the space between skilled and 
unskilled labor, concentrating more and more the wages of labor 
into the hands of the few, to inevitable poverty, with all its hor- 
rors, upon the masses. To arrest this in some measure, now that 
our country is comparatively in its infancy, by inducing thought 
among the people, and honest, healthy and correct sentiment among 
those who undertake to shape and mould public opinion, and give 
tone to society, and happiness, peace and prosperity among all 
classes, is the highest ambition of your humble servant. 

I am not vain enough to suppose that I can accomplish much in this 
vast field which spreads out before me, but that some one who has 
talent, genius and intelligence, equal to the task of setting the ball 
in motion, will catch up the ideas here promulgated, and with en- 
thusiasm and a love for his kind, waft them to the breeze, that 
they may permeate into the very dregs of society, and raise the 



X INTRODUCTION. 

oppressed everywhere, and make them feel that they, too, are 

MEN. 

Long years since, when the writer had not seen so much of men 
and things as now, — had had far less opportunity to know the 
•workings of the human mind, — to study the impulses by which 
men are governed, — to look into the acts of man, reading his 
heart's desire, and his power over himself to persuade what he 
thought to be for his interest, to be right ; he thought he saw a ten- 
dency to the same evils in society, which still exist, although less 
apparent then than now. He labored in conjunction with others, 
to establish certain institutions which were new and merely exper- 
imental, yet he and they have the satisfaction to see and know that 
those efforts which were thought to be visionary and imjiracticable, 
still exist, and have been the means of establishing prosperity and 
happiness into many a household, which is not bounded by either 
section or clique. 

And, although I shall address myself in these pages mainly to 
*armers and their children, — their sons and daughters, who are 
far more deeply interested in the events which are now transpiring 
in the country, by the institutions, the laws and public sentiment, 
which are to give form and character to them and their children, 
when we shall have, passed away : and believing that no commu- 
nity can be long prosperous whose interests are so extended and 
diversified as ours, without a free and independent yeomanry, and 
that in the success of these, all interests are blended, — when this 
interest suffers, all others must follow ; and to show how it is that 
in the disposal of all Agricultural products, we are selling our 
labor, and if they yield no adequate return for the time bestowed 
and capital invested, we are crushing out of the business the poor* 
— those who have no capital, and driving them out from amongst 
\is to seek employment elsewhere, thereby virtually inflicting evils 
upon us as a people, which can never be remedied nor counter- 
acted. 

Of some of the statute laws, also, I shall speak, and endeavor to 
show how that they practically, although intended for good, but in 



INTRODUCTION. m. 

their workings they operate to the disadvantage of the farmer, and 
that they cannot be applied to other classes, and if they could, no 
other class would submit to them. 

Also, I shall speak of the press in general, and the "Agricultu- 
ral press" in particular, that the people may see how that these 
stand in a false position to the tillers ot the soil,i — that although 
they professedly claim to be the farmer's friend, and derive their 
support to a great extent from him, yet they do in fact work to 
his disadvantage. 

The various Agricultural Societies, also, will be referred to, and 
think that I shall be able to show how that they in their practice, 
do the farmer much more evil than good. I shall show, also, 
that this interest needs no class or special legislation, — that the 
evils which these seek to remedy, are greatly augmented by them, 
and that the tendency is to fasten upon us a mercenary and aristo- 
cratic " Board," which will every year present new claims upon the 
treasury, that placemen may ride roughshod over the people. 

Further, I think I shall be able to show, by statistics and other 
facts, that while this interest, for various causes which will be 
made to appear, should be far less productive of pauperism and its 
attendant evils, is greatly in excess of any and all other interests 
combined to produce them. 

I shall introduce many figures and facts to prove the positive 
cost of most Agricultural products, showing that the whole cost 
has seldom been reckoned in estimating their value. 

I shall also speak of the manner of disposing of the products of 
the soil, and show that the present system of marketing is full of 
evils to the farmer. 

Further, I shall endeavor to explain some way by which the 
wrongs under which we labor can to some extent be remedied. 

I shall also show that too large a proportion of the people are 
Agriculturalists, — that it is often owing to over-productiveness, 
that brings embarrassment upon the country. The material of 
which products are made, will come into the investigation, — the 
amount of labor to produce them, — the interest on the capital, — 
the general management of the farm, &c., &c. 



SU INTRODUCTION. 

The writer will introduce many facts, and what arguments his 
limits will admit, to show the absurdity of separating the me- 
chanical from the Agricultural interest, — recommending the farm- 
ers to learn their sons some systematic and well-digested plan of 
earning a living in their own neighborhoods, by introducing trade 
and mechanical business that will afford constant employment, in- 
citing remunerating industry among the people. Our true policy 
being to build up the country towns, allowing the cities to take 
care of themselves. 

I shall also introduce many facts and statements to show 
the cost of whatever is produced upon the farm, and some plan by 
which a better recompense can be obtained. Hoping to introduce 
more mind into the business, and a better system of coming to 
correct conclusions. Believing that more time sliould be given by 
farmers to improvement, study, reflection, investigation, aiid less 
to drudgery. I shall avail myself of the statistics of the State and 
country, and the declarations of others, to prove, as I go along, 
the position taken. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

AaKICULTUBAL SOCIETIES 15 

CHAPTER n. 
Happiness 26 

CHAPTER ni. 

Massachusetts Boaed of Ageiculture 4 

Premiums by the State Board of Agriculture. 

CHAPTER IV. 

Bo.iED OF Agricultuke , Continued 81 

The State Fau-. 

CHAPTER V. 

Boaed of Agriculture, Continued Ill 

Scieuti&c and Educational. 

CHAPTER VI. 

The Agricultural Press 146 

How to Reckon the Cost of Farm Products — Cost of Farm 
Products — Is Farming Profitable? 

CHAPTER VII. 

The Agricultural Press, Continued, and Important Corres- 
pondence 172 

Is Farming Profitable ? — A Plain Question in Arithmetic — 
Subjects for Discussion for Farmers' Clubs — The Corn and 
Other Crops — Is Farming a Profitable Pursuit ? — Concord 
River Meadows — The First Convert. 



xiv CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER Vin. 

The Stattttb Laws, The Law of Custom, and How the Farm- 
ers Live 221 

How do Farmers Live ? — Profit and Per Cent. — To Farmers. 

CHAPTER IX. 

The Cost of Farm Products 242 

Philosophy of Agriculture — Neat Stock — Milk Making — Pork 
Making — Cost of Beef — Cost of Wood — Farming in the 
West. 

CHAPTER X. 

Mabeeting 276 

CHAPTER XI. 

The Farmers' Sons 290 

The Duty of Young Men. 

CHAPTER XII, 
His Excellency Gov. Banks 307 

Legislation — The Cattle Disease — Agricultural College — Con- 
cord River Meadows — Inquiries. 

CHAPTER Xm. 

The Future 338 

The Farmers' Sons and Daughters — Foreign Degradation of 
Labor — Market Days — Cattle Disease — Conclusion — Ques- 
tions. 

APPENDIX. 
C. L. Flint and His Lettee 379 



FARMING AS IT IS. 



CHAPTER I. 

AGRICULTUEAL SOCIETIES. 

riieir influence upon the people and prosperity of the country — State 
Appropriations — Number of Societies in the country — Where the 
idea originated— Whnt the farmers themselves think of the business 
— The opinion of the press and the Board — The farm at Westboro. 

In the latter part of the last century, it was thought 
to be wise, and for the general good, for the State, in 
some degree, to take the agricultural interest under 
her special control and care. In 1792, a Society was 
organized under the title of the " Massachusetts 
Society for Promoting Agriculture," and John 
Hancock, then being Governor of the State, approved 
the act of incorporation. From that day to this, I be- 
lieve this Society has had an existence, although a con- 
siderable proportion of the time it has been in a " chrys- 
alis" state, yet at no time has it been so torpid as to be 
unable to reach out its hand treasury-ward, to receive 
its $600, the annual stipend, which report says, has to 
a considerable extent been expended in good dinners, 

by "the old-fogy, aristocratic farmers of State street." 
15 



16 FARMING AS IT IS. 

Long before this, it had been a part of the settled 
policy of many of the old European countries, to foster 
and encourage their system of agriculture, by making 
large awards in premiums, and establishing agricultural 
exhibitions, to encourage their famishing laborers to 
greater efforts in drawing from the soil the essentials 
of life, that the non-producers might enjoy, at a cheaper 
rate, the products of the earth. This, however, I do 
not intend to discuss in these pages ; but merely refer 
to It, that the reader can see where and by whom the 
idea originated ; and it is to be lamented that our 
ancestors after, having completely broken the chain 
which bound them to the mother country, had not 
sought out a more rational system or rather no system, 
but have left those things to regulate themselves ; 
as it is undoubtedly the part of wisdom, to regulate 
and establish those affairs, which under our policy 
of government,no legislation — certainly no class legis- 
lation — can change for good. It has been wisely said, 
" that those communities of people are governed the 
best which are governed the least." 

In 1816, Agricultural Exhibitions were commenced 
at Brighton, by the State Society to which I have re- 
ferred, and were continued till they were found to con- 
flict with the Exhibitions of the County Societies, 
which have extended throuo-hout the State. Some of 
the counties have as many as three Societies, also in 
addition to these there are several Town Societies, 
besides a State Board of Agriculture • — all, or nearly 
60, receiving the bounty of the State. 



AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 17 

To examine these a little, and see what they are 
doing and have done for the people, will be a part of 
the object of this work. If they have and are doing 
good, or more good than evil, then it would seem to be 
the part of wisdom to continue them. But if not good, 
but evil — being a hobby by which certain men hold 
power and place, and live by the emoluments of their 
offices, drawn from the people, and the tax upon the 
citizens, being the smallest item in the list when com- 
pared with other and wide spread evils, then the soon- 
er they are discontinued, or so modified as to be made 
serAdceble, the better. There is an Italian proverb 
running in this wise, " Acader va chi troppo alto saU.^' 
" He who climhs too high, goes to fall^ I am not 
going to say that this is all wrong and that there is no 
good coming out of it ; it is not necessary for me to 
make thig appear, but that there is a great pre- 
ponderance of wrong, I firmly believe, and will with all 
fairness endeavor to make this appear to all un- 
prejudiced minds. 

In the first place, let me state what these men who 
move this machinery and absorb the funds, claim for the 
fiirmers and the farming interest. In their speeches, 
in their papers, in their transactions, they claim that 
the farmers have more happiness, have more health, 
have more meams of supplying their wants, have more 
of the conveniences of life, have more opportunity for 
improvement, and have fewer reasons to seek out other 
callings or pursuits, than all, or any other classes of 

men. 

2* 



18 FARMING AS IT IS. 

Upon each and all of these I shall differ from, and I 
take issue with, those who claim this position. 

I presume it wiU not be necessary for me to go 
into any argument to show or prove what I have 
above said, because the record is before the world, 
in their publications, &c. Before going into the 
argument, I want to say that I have no honeyed words 
for the farmer — he ought not to be deceived. I do 
not intend to build up one party at the expense of 
another, but intend to speak truly and fearlessly, and 
let the consequences take care of themselves. I have 
always thought that truth was better than error, and 
that although it may be slow, and wrong may 
luxuriate for awhile, yet the " sober second thought" 
will eventually appear. And although it may appear 
to be for the interest — I say interest — of some, that the 
farmer should work at a loss, yet I expect to be able 
to show that this is short sighted, and if the reader 
will give these pages a careful perusal, without preju- 
dice, I think he will find sufficient argument to es- 
tablish the position taken. The success of one is the 
success of all, and if one suffers, all suffer with him. 
You ask an intelligent shoe-maker if his interest and 
that of his employer is identical, and he will say yes. 
Any other view of the matter is short sighted, and so 
it is. The State, neither in its corjiorate nor civil 
capacity, has ever undertaken to direct, control, foster, 
improve, or in any way interfere with this interest. 
Neither have any disinterested, humane, or philan- 
throphic individuals undertaken the same thing, either 
for the public or any other good. 



AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 19 

The genius of the American people, particularly the 
Yankees, their habits of industry, discriminating facul- 
ties, keenness of perception, with their proverbial 
shrewdness and love of gain, precludes all possibility 
of any business, occupation or trade, being left to suf- 
fer or neglect, that is useful, and for the general good, 
as long as the people are left free to prosecute it at 
pleasure. And how it happened that the people con- 
ceived the idea that the Agricultural interest stood in 
need of Governmental or State aid, is certainly an 
anomaly in the history of our country. It must be ac- 
counted for, I think, in this way, that the restlessness 
of a certain portion of the people, who exist in all 
communities, their love of notoriety, and the power to 
control others, coupled with the desire to live on the 
earnings of the masses, has induced it. No less an 
anomaly is it that the people submit to it, acquiesce in, 
and to some extent encourage it. 

" Liberty is the price of eternal vigilance." 

Among no other class of the American people could 
such an idea for a moment prevail. I submit it then, 
if this is not a fit subject to engage the attention of 
those minds who are looking with some apprehension 
to the future of America. 

As the kind reader follows me through these pages, 
and with an unprejudiced mind sees clearly what I 
expect to show him, that evils of no small magnitude 
have crept into the legislation and the social habits of 
our people, to the detriment of the masses and the 



20 FARMING AS IT IS. 

injury of all, ought we to look supinely on, and not 
even raise a finger to arrest it. " If these things are 
found in the green tree what can we expect in the 
dry." 

There is an old adage which says, " In time of peace 
prepare for war." 

Perhaps, however, before going more particularly 
into the various subjects under examination, and upon 
which I intend to speak, it will be well to state that I 
do not intend to pull down without building up ; 
rearing the fabric that is now disjointed and out of 
proportion, into something more comely and better 
adapted to the capacities, habits, genius, and wants of 
the American people. Allowing to honest labor a re- 
compense that will afibrd the useful things of life, by 
showing that it is not for the want or lack of the pro- 
ducts of the earth that the people suffer, but because 
they are outwitted by the few who manage to appro- 
priate the "lion's share," making the masses believe 
that they must dictate, while the people work. It is 
good for all men to work, but it is not good for any 
man, or class of men, to be excessively worked, yielding 
all the finer sensibilities of our nature to a mere phy- 
sical development. And if at any time, when judicious 
labor fails to yield a suitable provision for the conve- 
niences of life, it is then time to pause. 

And that, although the reader may be led to infer 
that the object of this work is to raise the price of the 
necessaries and conveniences of life, yet, let me say, 
that it is not relatively so. It was not the j»)Wce of the 



AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 21 

potatoes, you know, that the Irishman complained of, 
but the difficulty of getting the shilling to buy them 
with. This is my position, and where I stand. Things 
are now disjointed and out of proportion, as I have 
above stated. And that there may be a more perfect 
union or harmony among all workers, that one class 
shall not constantly war against all other classes, but 
that their interest, being mutual, if rightly imderstood, 
shall be so blended, that a more just and perfect state 
of society shall exist. And that I do not intend to 
build up the agricultural interest at the expense of the 
mechanical or professional, but that they, and all other 
interests that are useful and for individual and the gen- 
eral good, shall find a more just reward. These, and 
these alone, are the objects for which I labor. 

I have no enemies to lash, or friends to elevate, but 
am an honest foe to all hypocrisy, subserviency, and 
wrong ; and that while I would see the condition of all 
improved, I cannot look tamely on and see the meager 
rewards of honest labor, grasped hold of by the cun- 
ning and crafty, that the few can luxuriate at the ex- 
pense of the many, and ride rampant throughout the 
land. Therefore, entei'taining these views, and believ- 
ing that the soil, and the condition of the workers 
thereof, is the hinge upon which the success or adver- 
sity, — the elevation or degradation, of a people rests, 
and that as they are well or illy paid, — as goes agri- 
culture, so goes aU. If we inquire into the cause of 
the last panic, we are told that the Western farmers 
could not sell their products only at great sacrifices ; 



22 FARMING AS IT IS. 

hence, they could not pay the merchant for his last 
year's supplies. The merchant finds his Eastern bills 
and notes to the manufacturer and middle men, accu- 
mulating and maturing, without the means to meet 
them ; and although the farmer sees the difficulty in 
which all the parties are getting, in consequence of his 
inability to pay, yet there are the cattle, the pork, the 
grains, &c., which he is ready to pledge ; but because 
he has been slow to make up his mind to meet extrem- 
ities, a general mistrust has pervaded the business 
world, the banks are unyielding, the weaker parties 
have given way, and a general calamity is the result. 
This is attributed to all sorts of reasons but the right 
one ; and that although great excitement and apparent 
distress is hearalded from one end of the country to the 
other, yet I ask, who have suffered, — who have retired 
to their rest at night cold and hungry, — who have wit- 
nessed and seen the many wants of families and inno- 
cent children, — who have been unable to lay in their 
weekly stores and daily bread, but the mechaxics and 
LABORERS ? Amid all the distress, they alone have 
suffered. So it is, and so it will be, till a more rational 
system is devised. 

Go into the farming districts of Maine, New Hamp- 
shire, Vermont, and Massachusetts, and ask the me- 
chanics, lofers, idlers, horse and watch jockeys, why 
they do not work upon the lands, and they will tell you 
" the soil is exhausted, — it does not produce as former- 
ly, — they can buy their flour, corn, &c., cheaper than 
they can raise them ! " Ask the farmers in these sev- 



AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 23 

eral localities, where their sons and daughters are, and 
they will tell you " that they leave as soon as they get 
big enough to work, — the boys go West, and the girls 
to the factories ; " thereby making an excess of males 
in one section, and females in another. Ask them how 
they themselves are getting on, and they will tell you 
" bad enough, — they live and that is all." 

Go to Lynn, Haverhill, and Natick, and ask the shoe- 
makers there if their work is as regular and as well 
paid as it used to be, and they will tell you " it is 
greatly fluctuating, continually changing, up and down, 
from bad to worse ! " Ask them the cause, and they 
will tell you " it is the country workmen, who are con- 
tinually underbidding them in prices, and they are so 
numerous as to supply any demand in a few weeks, 
however great ! " 

Ask the agricultural press how the farmers are get- 
ting along, and they will tell you, "nobly, coining 
money hand over fist, at the rate of from fifty to some 
one or two hundred per cent, on their labor and capital 
invested." Ask them why three-fourths of all the 
young men leave the farming business, and they will 
tell you in rather a faltering voice, as though the inter- 
rogatory was somewhat presumptuous, " O, our young 
men don't like farming, — it is not popular enough ! " 
Here the subject is changed. 

Ask the " State Board of Ao-riculture " if farmino-is 
a good business, and they will tell you " that the far- 
mers need to be encouraged and instructed, and it is 
the duty of the State to appropriate liberally for this 



24 FARMING AS IT IS. 

object. That we need an Agricultural College, an ex- 
perimental farm, with a liberal distribution of county 
and town Societies over the State, to disseminate infor- 
mation on agricultural matters 1 " Ask if the farm 
under their care at Westboro' paid its way. " O, no, 
we labored under many disadvantages there." How 
is that ? I thought you had a market in the State in- 
stitution there for all you had to spare, and the boys 
done the most of the work, at your own price. "O, 
well, I see you don't understand agricultural matters." 
Very likely I 

The above subjects will also furnish subject matter 
for consideration ; and although they have been briefly 
alluded to here, I shall endeavor to consider them more 
in detail, as I proceed in presenting these thoughts to 
the public. Antagonistical and conflicting as these 
various interests are, yet they may be made one, and 
one only. 

" That man to man, the world o'er, 
Shall brothers be for a' that ; 
For a' that, and a' that, 

Shall brothers be for a' that." — Bums. 

The following table exhibits the number of the vari- 
ous Agricultural Societies and Boards of Agriculture, 
in the United States : 



AGEICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 



25 



STATES AND TERRITORIES. 



C <U ,—1 



<! W 

Alabama 7 

Arizona Ter 

Arkansas 2 

Califuruia 6 2 

Carson Ter 

Columbia, District of 

Connecticut 10 

Daliota Ter 

Delaware 3 1 

Florida 

Georgia 10 

Illinois 86 2 

Indiana "^'^ 2 

Indian Ter 

Iowa 66 1 

Kansas • 1 

Kentucky 6 2 

Louisiana 2 2 

Maine 1'^ 

Maryland ^8 

Massachusetts • 34 7 

Michi£;an 26 2 

Minnesota 28 1 

Mississippi 13 1 

Missouri 16 

Nebraska Ter H 

Nevada Ter 

New Hampshire "^ 

New Jersey . • 13 

New Mexico Ter 

New York 79 9 

North Carolina. ■ . 8 . . 

Ohio 69 5 

Oregon 2 .. 

Pennsylvania 65 3 

Rhode Island 2 

South Carolina ^^2 1 

Tennessee 1^ 

Texas. 23 

Utah Ter 1 

Vermont 16 

Virginia 23 

Washington Ter 2 ■■ 

Wisconsin ^ _ 

Total "799 43 

3 



2 
16 



10 



10 

94 
77 

74 
1 
14 
4 
17 
10 
43 
28 
29 
16 
32 
11 

7 

16 

97 

8 
74 

2 
71 

2 
13 
20 
24 

1 
16 
26 

2 
35 



70 912 



CHAPTEE II. 

HAPPINESS. 

Definition of the term — Pauperism — Intemperance — Insanity — 
Idiocy — Mechanical Industry — Agriculture — Trade — Population 
— Comparative Analysis — Foreign Pauperism — Comparison —Emi- 
gration — Immigration, &c., &c. 

I HAVE said in the preceding chapter, that the agri- 
cultural wire-pullers in this State who have or presume 
to have this interest under consideration, more particu- 
larly in their keeping and care, claim that the farmers 
have more of the above quality, viz., Happiness, than 
any or all other classes. Therefore, to examine this 
somewhat in detail and in general, and give an impar- 
tial view of the matter, it will be proper in the first 
place, to inquire what happiness is ? What is it to be 
happy ? 

If I had been asked what I understood the term to 
mean, what language would briefly and comprehensive- 
ly define the term, without looking to either Walker 
or Webster, I should have answered decisively, " a 
consciousness of being and having heen in the right, 
with a ''pocket full of rocks T " 

If the same question had been put to the State 
Board of Agriculture, and they had answered without 
premeditation, it is fair to presume, the answer would 

26 



HAPPINESS. 27 

have been expressed in these words : "a smothered con- 
science and libercd State appropriations I " 

But the subject will not be examined by either of 
these tests. I shall look into Webster and see what 
he has to say, considering it fair that he should act as 
umpii-e. '"'' YLawin'E^s^ state of enjoyment ; unstudied 
grace ; good lucJc ; good fortuned This is Webster's 
definition, and he is authority in the matter. Although 
it in nowise conflicts with my own definition, yet, it is 
more full and expressive, certainly, in his day, if not 
now. 

The reader will see, then, that a considerable pro- 
portion of the argument on the whole subject rests upon 
the disposal of this single word, Happiness : "state of 
enjoyment." What is it to enjoy and what are the ne- 
cessary requisites for supplying this condition ? In the 
first place, health — good health is one of the essentials 
necessary to this condition of the mind ; for without 
health a high state of neither mental nor physical en- 
joyment can exist. 

The next requisite to the full development of this 
condition, is grace, " unstudied grace." To be grace- 
ful, is to be kind, to be polite, to be dignified ; to be 
well adorned, well dressed, afi'able, courteous. " Good 
luck," comes next. What is good luck ? To be for- 
tunate in financial affairs — to sell above the cost — to 
make a good profit ; circumstances that constantly 
have a fixvorable turn. A child may be said to have 
good luck when he escapes a chastisement or repri- 
mand, and is a httle indulged. A youth has good luck 



28 FAEMING AS IT IS. 

when lie is not compelled to over-exertion or labor, 
is well provided for in regard to an education, and a 
favorable position into society. The young man is said 
to be lucky when he meets with successes in his ef- 
forts to distinction, wealth and position ; gets a good 
wife, &c. And the young woman, when she gets a 
good and kind husband, and is favorably established in 
society. 

The last requisite, according to Webster, to complete 
HAPPINESS, is " good fortune." He defines fortune 
thus : " chance ; lucky ; position ; riches ; futurity ; 
destiny." It must be evident to all that there are no 
tests upon which all of these requisites can be estab- 
lished, but the test of public opinion. And every one 
must judge of these in a measure for themselves. 
That the farmer ought to possess these to a greater ex- 
tent than most other classes of people, all observing 
men must admit, and for these reasons : He is more 
prudent, more industrious, and less given to excesses, 
than other men. And theee go far, I know, to estab- 
lish the position claimed. But, also, he has less good 
luck, less enjoyment and less fortune. His enjoyment 
is less positive, and partakes lai-gely, or may be ex- 
pressed perhaps better, by the term negative — nega- 
tive enjoyment. 

I have thus briefly analyzed the word, in its posi- 
tive, absolute or substantive sense. Evidently, how- 
ever, the idea to be conveyed is better expressed by 
the comparative word, happt, because no man is sup- 
posed to be supremely happy here. It is only by de- 



HAPPINESS. 29 

grees that we use tlie term. Thus, we say a man is 
happy when compared with some other man or person. 
Yet, again, he may be very unhappy, when compared 
with some other man or person. The adjective hap- 
py, Mr. Webster defines thus : " Lucky ; being in the 
enjoyment of good ; 'prosperous ; dextrous ; blessed, 
harmonious^ as a happy family.^'' 

Therefore, when we say a man, or a class of men, 
are favorably situated for a higher state of enjoyment 
than any other class of men, we mean either something 
or nothing. If we mean anything, then it is capable 
in some degree, of demonstration. If nothing but a 
mere subterfuge — a deception — a sham, then the 
quicker the facts in the case are known the better. 

" The evil that men do, lives after them : 
The good is oft interred with their bones." 

I come now, more particularly, to the examination 
of this part of the subject. If the farmers have a high- 
er state of enjoyment than other classes, let us see in 
what they consist. To show this, they should have 
less pauperism, less intemperance, less insanity, less 
idiocy. If I should take the carefully prepared statis- 
tics, under authority of the State, and, by a careful 
and impartial examination of them, show that all of 
these are very much in excess in the agricultural dis- 
tricts then it would j)lainly appear, that this is not 
that lucrative and blissful state of society, that it is 
claimed to be. 

Then it should be borne in mind, that almost all 
3* 



30 FARMING AS IT IS. 

farmers are men of more or less property, Avliich they 
either inherited or earned in some other business ; and 
the income of this and their more than average indus- 
try and frugality, they ought to show less of these 
evils than we should expect to find in mechanical dis- 
tricts, where the people are more directly imder the 
control of the monied power, and have little or no cap- 
ital to work with. But the reverse is the fact ; and 
among others, for these reasons : All other classes of 
men expect to make a living out of their trade or pro- 
fession, and act up to this principle, knowing what 
they are about. In other words, they do their own 
figuring and thinking. Not so with the farmer. They 
are content to let others think and figure for them. 
And how they have done this and to whose benefit, 
will appear in these pages. 

I propose going through the State by Counties, 
showing the relative condition of each class, by com- 
parison. 

COUNTY OF BARNSTABLE. 

PROVINCETOWN. 

This town lias the largest relative population of any in the 
county, engaged in other pursuits than agriculture. 

Population 3,096 

No. of paupers having a legal settlement in the town or 

Slate 29 

No. of paupers unable to perform labor 5 

" Insane persons suiiporbcd by the town. 

" Idiots " " " 

" Paupers, made so by intemperance in themselves or 

others 



HAPPINESS. 31 

BARNSTABLE. 

No. of paupers having a legal settlement in the town or 

State 120 

" Paupers unable to perform labor 18 

" Insane persons supported by the town 8 

" Idiots " " " 4 

" Paupers made so by intemperance in themselves or 

others 48 

" Population of this town 4,998 

Out of this population, there are 218 fishermen and mechanics. 
This town is more purely agricultural than any other in the 
county. 

BERKSHIRE COUNTY. 

PITTSFIELD. 

This town is engaged extensively in manufactures and trade. Out 

of a population of 6,501, there are 744 mechanics. 
No. of paupers having a legal settlement in the town or \ 

State 84 

" Paupers unable to perform labor 

" Insane persons supported by the town 3 

" Idiots " *' " 1 

SHEFFIELD. 

This town has a population of 2,624, and but 28 mechanics. 

No. of paupers having a legal settlement in the town or 

State 53 

" Paupers unable to perform labor 5 

*• Insane persons supported by the town 3 

" Idiots " " " 

This is more purely agricultural than any other town in the county. 

BRISTOL COUNTY. 

FALL RIVER. 

The city of Fall River has the largest relative population engaged 
in trade and manufactures, of any city or town in the county. 
It has a population of 12,080. But a very small proportion of 
these arc engaged in agriculture. 



32 FARMING AS IT IS. 

No. of paupers having a legal settlement in the city or State, ex- 
clusive of foreigners 16 

" Insane relieved or supported by the city 3 

" Idiots " " " " 

" Paupers made so by intemperance, including for- 
eigners 



44 



BERKLEY. 

This town has a population of 924, pretty much all agriculturists, 

— there being but 60 mechanics, according to the statistics. 
No. of paupers having a legal settlement in the State, exclusive of 

foreigners 14 

" Insane persons relieved or supported by the town.. 1 

" Idiots " " " . . 1 

" Paupers, made so by intemperance 5 

COUNTY OF ESSEX. 

LYNN. 

The city of Lynn has a population of 15,713. Comparatively but 

little attention is paid to agriculture. 
No. of paupers having a legal settlement in the city or 

State 404 

" Insane relieved or supported by the city 6 

" Idiots " " " 

" Paupers, made so by intemperance 550 

BOXFOED. 

This is a farming town again, and has a population of 1,034. 
No. of paupers having a legal settlement in the town or 

State 9 

" Insane relieved or supported by the town. 1 

" Idiots " " " 1 

" Paupers, made so by intemperance 3 

The whole cost of supporting paupers in this town is $700, or 

G7 cents to each person. 
In Lvnn the whole cost is $7,500.00, or 47 cents to each person. 



HAPPINESS. 



33 



COUNTY OF FRANKLIN. 



GREENFIELD. 

This town his the largest relative proportion of trade and manu- 
factures of any in the county. Population, 2,945. 
No. of paupers having a legal settlement in the town or 

State 20 

" Insane persons relieved or supported by the town. . 1 

« Idiots " " " "•••• 

AVhole cost of supporting poor, $800, or 27 cents to each person. 

WARWICK. 

This town has the largest relative proportion of farmers of any 
town in the county. It will be proper to state, however, that 
the females do much in this town by their work on palm-leaf 
hats, towards a support. This being introduced in almost every 
family. Population, 1,002. 
No. of paupers having a legal settlement in the town or 

State • • • • ^2 

" Insane persons relieved or supported by the town. . 3 

" Idiots " " " "••• 1 

Whole cost of supporting poor, $950, or 95 cents to each person. 

COUNTY OF HAMPDEN. 

CHICOPEE. 

This town has the largest relative proportion of manufactures of 

any town in the county. Population, 7,57G. 
No. of paupers having a legal settlement in the town or 

State 1* 

" Insane persons relieved or supported by the town. . 2 

" Idiots " " " " 

Whole cost of supporting poor, $1,200.54, or 15 cents to each 

person. 

MONTGOMERY. 

This town is almost purely agricultural. Population, 413. 
No. of paupers having a legal settlement in the town or 

State 2* 



34 TARMING AS IT IS. 

No. of insane persons relieved or supported by the town. . 

" Idiots " " " " 1 

Whole cost of supporting poor, $338, or 81 cents to each person. 

COUNTY OF HAMPSHIRE. 

NOKTHAMPTONj 

The people of this town are largely engaged in manufactures, and 
according to the best information I have, more purely so than 
any other town in the county. Population, 5,819. 

No. of paupers having a legal settlement in the town or 

State 30 

" Insane persons relieved or supported by the town.. 6 

" Idiots " " " " . . . 3 

Whole cost of supporting poor, $1,500.00, or 25 cents to each 
person. 

PKESCOTT. 

But little done in this town but farming, although there are some 

125 females at work on palm leaf. Population, 643. 

No. of paupers having a legal settlement in the town or 

State 2Q 

" Insane persons relieved or supported by the town.. 1 

" Idiots " <« " "... 

Whole cost of supporting poor, $490.00, or 75 cts. to each person. 

COUNTY OF MIDDLESEX. 
I propose to give here the whole industry of two towns in this 
county, to show the workings of the two systems, the influence 
each has upon the people at home, and the State and country. I 
have selected two towns of about the same geographical size, 
not but little difference in their distance from the metropolis, 
and in many respects being somewhat analagous. 

NATICK. 

Daguerreotype artists, 1 ; daguerreotypes taken, 2,191 ; em- 
ployed one ; capital, $500. 

Carriage manufactories, 3j value, $5,960 ; employed 10. 



HAPPINESS. 35 

Cap manufactories, 1 ; value of caps made, $413 ; capital, $25 : 
employed, 1. 

Boots of all kinds made, 570 pairs ; shoes of all kinds made, 
1,281,295 pairs; value of boots and shoes, $1,163,808: men em- 
ployed, 1,070: females employed, 497. 

Firewood prepared for market, 1,001 cords; value of fii-ewood, 
$4,246 ; employed, 3. 

Sheep kept, 2 ; value, $18 ; wool, 11 pounds. 

Number horses, 256 ; value, $28,160 ; oxen over three years old, 
80 ; steers under three years old, 10 ; value of oxen and steers, 
$5,878 ; milch cows, 291 ; heifers, 25 ; value of cows and heifers, 
$9,975. 

Butter, 18,159 pounds; value of butter, $4,539; cheese, 625 
pounds ; value of cheese, $62 ; honey, 92 pounds ; value of honey, 
$19. 

Indian corn, 271 acres ; Indian corn per acre, 31^ bushels ; val- 
ue, $8,491. 

Rye, 51 acres ; rye per acre, 171-f bushels ; value. Si, 189. 

Barley, 14^ acres ; barley per acre. 18i bushels ; value, $268. 

Oats, 56 acres; oats per acre, 24 bushels ; value, $1,008. 

Potatoes, 136 acres ; potatoes per acre, 91 bushels ; value, $10,- 
625. 

Onions, ^ acre ; onions per acre, 500 bushels ; value, $2X7. 

Turnips, 2 acres ; per acre, 295 bushels ; value, $218. 

Carrots, 31 acres ; per acre, 636 bushels ; value, $689. 

Beets and other esculent vegetables, 61 acres ; value, $4,878. 
All other grain and root crops, 2 acres ; value, $31. 

English mowing, 1,226 acres ; English hay, 1,312 tons ; value, 

$25,580. 

Wet meadow or swale hay, 375 tons ; value, S3,715. 

Apple trees, cultivated for their fruit, 5,580 ; value, $2,830. 

Pear trees, cultivated for their fruit, 310 ; value, $428. 

Cranberries, 810 bushels ; value, $1,620. 

Bakeries, 1 ; capital, $1,100; flour consumed, 620 barrels; val- 
ue of bread made, $9,110 ; employed, 4. 

Establishments for manufacture of shoe boxes, 2 ; capital; $5,- 
600 ; value of boxes made, $19,100 ; employed, 10. 



36 FAKMING AS IT IS. 

Value of fruit, $810. 
White beans, 253 bushels ; value, $525. 
Milk, 50,380 gallons ; value, $7,035. 
Swine raised, 68 ; value, Sl,507. 

Establishment for manufacture of pulp for paper, 1 ; stock used, 
490 tons ; capital, $16,500 ; value of pulp made, $70,475 ; em- 
ployed, 12. 

Establishments for manufacture of shoe fillings, 2 ; capital, 
$500 ; value, $1,500 ; employed, 3. 

Establishments for manufacture of clothing, 5 ; value of cloth" 
ing made, $30,800 ; capital, $5,500 ; employed, 61. 
Value of treenails or ship pins, $4,136. 
Value of ship timber, Si, 730. 

Value of ship plank, $260: capital, $1,250; employed, 5. 
Population of this town, 4,138. Here foUoM's the paupers' 
account. 
No. of persons relieved or supported as paupers during the 

year 26 

" Paupers having a legal settlement in the town or 

State 6 

" State paupers 

" Almshouse 1 

" Acres attached to almshouse 70 

Estimated value of almshouse establishment $2,500 

No. of paupers relieved in almshouse during the year.. . . 26 

Average No. supported in almshouse 5 

" Weekly^ cost of supporting each pauper in alms- 
house ,42 

No. of persons in almshouse unable to perform labor 26 

" Insane relieved or supported 1 

" Idiots " » 1 

" Paupers, made so by intemperance in themselves or 

others 26 

Amt. received from the State for support of State paupers 

Whole cost of supporting poor, $642, or 15^ cents to each person 
in town. 



HAPPINESS. 37 

CARLISLE. 

Boots of all kinds made, 250 pairs ; shoes of all kinds made, 
5000 pairs ; value of boots and shoes made, $4,500 ; men era- 
ployed, 4 ; females employed, 4. 

Lumber ijrepared for market, 112,000 feet ; value, $1,568; em- 
ployed, 50. 

Firewood prepared for market, 1,500 cords ; value, $5,625 ; em- 
ployed, 40. 

Horses, 83 ; value of horses, $5,800 ; oxen over three years 
old, 126; steers under three years old, 70 ; value of oxen and 
steers, $7,030 ; milch cows, 290 ; heifers, 72 ; value of cows and 
heifers, $8,535. 

Butter, 8,575 pounds ; value of butter, $1,715. 

Indian corn, 175 acres ; Indian corn per acre, 20 bushels; value 
of corn, $3,500. 

Rye, 28 acres; rye per acre, 12 bushels ; value, $380. 

Oats, 20 acres ; oats per acre, 25 bushels ; value, $250. 

Potatoes, 121 acres ; per acre, 66 bushels ; value, $7,986. 

English mowing, 762 acres ; English hay, 650 tons ; value, 
$13,000. 

Wet meadow or swale hay, 600 tons ; value, $4,800. 

Apple trees cultivated for their fruit, 1,300 ; value, $2,000. 

Cranberries, 32 acres ; value, $1,600. 

Swine raised, 73 ; value, $500. 

Beans, 12 acres ; 100 bushels ; value, $200. 

Value of turnips, onions, carrots and beets, $300. 

Value of milk sold, $800. 

Value of hand-screws made, $400. 

Value of blacksmi thing, $2,000; capital, $1,000; employed, 2. 

Population, 630. 

Pauper Account. 
No. of persons relieved or supported as paupers, during 

the year 21 

" Persons having a legal settlement in the town or 

State 21 

" State paupers 

" Almshouses 1 

4 



38 FARMING AS IT IS. 

No. of acres attached to i\.lmshouse 160 

Estimate value almshouse establishment $4,000 

No. of paupers relieved ia almshouse during the j'ear. ... 18 

Average No. supported in almshouse 13 

" Weekly cost of supporting each pauper in alms- 
house .89 

No. of persons in almshouse unable to perform labor 8 

" Insane relieved or supported 2 

" Idiots " " 

" Paupers, made so by intemperance in themselves or 

others 5 

Amount received from State for support of Sta*:e paupers. $68,75 
Whole cost of supporting poor, $811, or $1.28 to each person in 
town. 

It is not to be presumed that this gives every item of industry 
in either of the towns enumerated; but it is supposed to approx- 
imate as closely as could be ascertained. 

COUNTY OF NORFOLK. 



No. of paupers having a legal settlement in the city o* 

State 50 

*' Insane persons relieved or supported by the city. . . 4 

Whole cost of supporting poor, $7,484.68, or 40 cents to each 

person in the city. Population, 18,469. 

There is a greater variety of enterprise in this city than can be 
found in any other town or city in the Commonwealth, of the same 
population, or in proportion to population. 



This town has the largest relative population engaged in agricul- 
ture of any in the county. 
No of paupers having a legal settlement in the town or 

State 16 

" Insane persons relieved or supported by the town. . 1 

Whole cost of supporting poor, $593.00, or 79 cents to each per- 
son in town. Population, 745. 



HAPPINESS. 39 

PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 

* ABINGTON. 

This town exceeds any other in the county in variety and magni- 
tude of its mechanical industry, when compared with its agri- 
culture. Something more than half of the people are engaged 
in the shoe business. 
No. of paupers having a legal settlement in the town or 

State 41 

Average No. supported in almshouse 9^ 

No. of insane persons supported or relieved by the town. . 3 

" Paupers, made so by intemperance in themselves or 

others 2 

Whole cost of supporting poor, $1,3G2.30, or 18 cents to each 
person in town. Population, 6,937. 

HALIFAX. 

This town is pi-incipally engaged in agriculture, although there are 
considerable many shoes made, and many of the ladies are en- 
gaged in making gentlemen's clothing. But according to the 
best information I have, its agriculture has a larger relative pro- 
portion to its manufactures, than any town in the county. 

In looking the county all over, I find that a-ricultural and me- 
chanical industry is more evenly divided in each town, than any 
other county in the State ; there being no town but what u con- 
siderable proportion of the people are engaged in agriculture ; 
also, in manufactures. So that I should judge that if a farmer 
had any thing to sell, he would find a customer in his mechanic 
neighbor, and vice versa. 

I shall have more to say about this in another place. 

No. of paupers having a legal settlement in the town or 

State 8 

" Insane persons relieved or supported by the town. . 2 

Whole cost of supporting the poor, $o28.32, or 67 cents to each 
person. Population, 786. 



4U FARMING AS IT IS. 

COUNTY OF WORCESTER. 

WORCESTER. 

No. of paupers having a legal settlement in the city or 

State 77 

Average No. supported in almshouse 17 

No. of persons in almshouse unable to perform labor 8 

" Foreign paupers who have come into the State 

within one year 16 

Whole cost of supporting poor, $7,184.44, or 32 cents for each 
person in the city. Population, 22,286. 

HARDWICK. 

This town has the largest relative agricultural population in the 

county. 
No. of paupers having a legal settlement in the town or 

State 39 

Average No. supported in almshouse 11 

No. of persons in almshouse unable to perform labor 4 

" Foreign paupers who have come into the State 

within one year 

Whole cost of supporting poor, $1,298.04, or 85 cents to each 

person in the town. 
It will be noticed that I have avoided the fractions of the cent in 
these estimates, as they are of no practical use. 

Before going into an examination of the foregoing 
figures, it will be proper to state the source from 
which they have been derived. I have had before me 
three separate works, got up by authority of the 
State : viz.. Statistical Information relating to 
certain Branches of Industry in 3fassachusetts, 
for the year ending June 1, 1855. Returns relat- 
ing to the Poor for 1856. Also, the Census of 
Massachusetts, for 1855. 

Thus it will be seen that these statements are sup- 



HAPPINESS. 41 

posed to be as accurate as anything of the kind can be 
estmiated ; for it is well known that all such statistics 
are nothing more than approximations to the true state 
of the case, and may be more or less erroneous, de- 
pending much upon the judgment of the parties hav- 
ing the matter in charge. I refer now, more particu- 
larly to the first named work, as the others undoubted- 
ly are nearly correct ; although in the Returns re- 
lating to the Poor, I found many omissions, which per- 
haps has varied the case a little. Then it will be ob- 
served in these returns that I have given, the foreign 
element has almost wholly gone into those estimates 
which have been given in the towns and cities which 
have been considered as mechanical ; consequently have 
swelled the number and expense of the paupers, far 
beyond the true reasoning upon the subject. In these 
estimates the foreign element should not have gone 
into these calculations at all. For it is clear to see, 
that neither our institutions, nor our manner of indus- 
try, is in any way responsible for this class of pauj)ers. 
They often come here with no means of a living, and 
by habit and education are wholly unprepared to earn 
a support, consequently are thrown upon those places 
for aid, where they mainly congregate. Consequently 
out of the thirty-eight paupers in Fall Eiver, twenty- 
two are foreigners, while in Berkley, in the same coun- 
ty, there is but one of this description. 

The same is true in regard to the cities of Lynn, 
Worcester, and most of the other places which have 
been considered as anti-agricultural. And as agricul- 
4* 



42 FARMING AS IT IS. 

ture is more or less practiced in all those towns and 
cities denominated meclianical, so is mechanical indus- 
try more or less established in the towns considered as 
agricultural, which goes far to reduce the pauper list 
of one, and increase it in the other. 

While those toAvns and cities denominated as me- 
chanical, and being the most purely so in the eleven 
counties considered, representing a population of 106,- 
154, there are but 771 of that class of paupers referred 
to. On the other hand, the eleven towns in the same 
counties which are considered as farming towns, and 
representing a population of but 14,342, have the large 
number of 325 of the same class of paupers. While 
the population of the former is more than seven times 
that of the latter, the pauper list is but a little more 
than double. If then, the foreign element of pauper- 
ism should be divided ^ro rata between the two class- 
es, as it should, to give a fair comparison, what a field 
for thought and investigation, it would open to the 
wise and good of all classes. For if these figures are 
correct, and the argument deduced therefrom is relia- 
ble, it plainly follows, that while our system of agricul- 
ture makes more than two per cent, of all her people 
paupers, and all other branches of industry and profes- 
sions less than one-half of one per cent., certainly it 
must be apparent to the most obtuse mind, that great 
wrong exists somewhere, and somebody is responsible 
for it. But when I go further in my argument, and 
show why this is so, the reader will only be surprised 
that these evils are not more glaring than they are 



HAPPINESS. 43 

shown to be. Verily, " the evil that men do, lives 
after them." 

There is another view of the matter which it will be 
well to consider here. I have before said that a very 
large proportion of all the young men leave the farm- 
ing towns and emigrate to some other State or country, 
or to some of the cities or larse mannfacturino; towns 
of this State. The practical effect of this is to keep 
down the pojiulation of these towns and build up other 
towns, cities and States, at the expense of their native 
towns. For, I hold that the very worst thing that a 
town, State or country can do for itself, is, to export its 
young men and women. How infinitely more wise it 
would be to learn the people how to earn a living at 
home, rather than to compel them, by a false state of 
society, to abandon the place of their bii'th, that they 
may live ; although we are often told that there is 
really no necessity for this, only in their own minds. 
But let any one go into the country towns as I have 
been, and see the people as I have seen them, and if 
they do not see sufficient cause for this, then their 
minds must be either wilfully blind, or their power of 
discernment unpardonably obtuse. 

The people generally, do not want to leave their 
coimtry homes, and only do so from necessity ; that 
they may better their condition, which they have no 
hopes of doing there. Introduce into any country 
town, a business by which the masses of the people 
may earn a little more than a living, without making 
more than slaves of themselves, and you will find them 



44 



FARMING AS IT IS. 



generally content. That farming is not this business, 
we have already seen ; although we are frequently 
told that all other kinds of business and professions are 
overdone, yet, it is evident that the people do not be- 
lieve it. " There is no fence against fortune." " Af- 
ter having praised their wine they sell us vinegar." 
Perhaps it is not generally known to what extent 
the people of this State have emigrated to other States 
in the Union. According to the returns in the census 
of 1850, there were 199,582 natives of Massachusetts 
in other States, divided as follows : 



In Maine, 16,535 

New Hampshire, . . . 18,495 

Vermont, 15,059 

Rhode Island, 11,888 

Connecticut 11,366 

Xew York, 55,773 

New Jersey, 1,494 

Pennsylvania, 7,330 

Delaware, 113 

Maryland, c 1,421 

Dist. Columbia, 331 

Virginia, 1,193 

North Carolina, 261 

South Carolina, 407 

Georgia, 594 

Florida, 235 

Alabama, 654 



In Mississippi, 330 

Louisiana, 1 ,62 

Texas, 414 

Arkansas, 174 

Tennessee, 331 

Kentucky, 665 

Ohio 18,703 

Michigan, 8,167 

Indiana, 2,678 

Illinois, 9,230 

Missouri 1,103 

Iowa, 1,251 

Wisconsin, 6,285 

California, 4,760 

Territories, 653 



Total, 199,582 



It must be recollected that this Avas ten years ago, 
and undoubtedly the census which is to be taken this 
year, will greatly increase these figures. Although, 
on the other hand, it will be argued that large numbers 



HAPPINESS. 45 

of natives of other States have immigrated to this 
State, which is true, to the tune of 134,830. But the 
candid reader will see that this in nowise affects my 
aro-ument, for not only is this immigration concentrated 
in the cities and manufacturing towns of the Common- 
wealth, but large numbers of the natives of the farm- 
ino- towns in the State, have also become citizens of 
these same localities. 

Although much more might be said to substantiate 
the position I have taken, yet, I think the candid read- 
er must admit, without going any further into the argu- 
ment, that according to Mr. Webster's definition of the 
Avord HAPPINESS or happy, it is perfectly apparent 
that the farmers are not that happy class they have 
been represented to be. Unless to work at a loss, — to 
waste their substance, — to see their sons depart to dis- 
tant localities, and their daughters to be entombed 
within the brick walls of our city prisons ; thereby 
paving the way to lower haunts of vice and crime, — 
raakino- a larg-e excess of females in some localities, and 
of males in others, — to see the products of the farm 
hawked about our cities, at prices that would not re- 
turn the raw material to the soil, to reproduce them, — 
to people our work-houses, — to be taxed to support 
men to perambulate our country towns, who concoct 
measures to degrade them ; who know little about the 
laws of vegetation and plant-food, and whose principal 
study is to make the products of the earth cheap in our 
cities and market places, to the advantage of none but 
the idle and vicious; except, perhaps, the money- 



46 FARMING AS IT IS. 

lender, who is willing to sacrifice the future of our 
country and their children, to present gains, — to see 
their farms cheapened in the market, and the soil robbed 
of plant life, without the means to reinstate them. If 
to the intelligent farmer, all this is happiness, then, and 
then only, is he happy. 

To change a few words in a single verse, of " Hood's 
Song of the Shirt," it would be somewhat expressive 
of what has already been said, and quite as applicable 
as in the orijrinal. 

O men with mothers dear ! 

O men with brothers and wives ! 
' Tis not only the earth j-ou are wearing out, 

But human creatures lives ! 

Hoe — hoe — hoe, 

In jjoverty, hunger, and slop ; 
Digging at once, with spade and hoe, 

A grave, as well as the " crop ! " 



CHAPTER m. 

THE MASSACHUSETTS BOAED OP AGRICULTURE. 

The State Farm — Agricultural Experiments — The Press — The Far- 
mer's Interests — Degradation of Foreign Farm Laborers — The Ob- 
ject of the Board to Cheapen Agricultural Products — Raw Material 
— State Appropriations — Members of the Board — The Cost to the 
People to Support the Various Agricultural Societies — Experiments 
Through the County Societies — Statistics in Regard to the Board of 
Agriculture — Way the Board make money — Price of a Piggery. 

In the spring of 1854, the State Farm at West- 
boro' was transferred into the hands of the above 
Board, by the Legislature. The State having two ob- 
jects in view : 1st. To give the children at the State 
Reform School an opportunity to work upon the Farm 
as heretofore ; and 2d, To establish an " Experimental 
Farm," which was supposed to be of great value to the 
people of this and other States, to learn folks how to 
"produce large crops at small expense. 

This farm contains about 300 acres of land, and, in 
their own language, the Board says : 

" Its location is beautiful, and it embraces great vari- 
ety of soil and surface ; is well adapted for the usual 
modes of cultivation, and for agricultural experiments, 
and may be made both attractive to the eye, and very 
productive^ 

Not only was this farm, which was so attractive to 
the " eye," and so valuable for " agricultural experi- 

47 



48 FARMING AS IT IS. 

Tnents" placed in their hands, but the whole of the 
large stock of cattle, both " blood " and native, and aU 
the tools and other conveniences to the value of nearly 
$7,000. And although they had a head farmer, and 
nearly a hundred boys, who worked for ten cents per 
day upon the farm, yet they thought it wise, and for the 
public good., to ask of the State an appropriation of six 
thousand dollars, which was granted, to start with. 

It will be admitted that this was a very fair fit-out 
for some twenty practical farmers to estabhsh them- 
selves in the business of learning common people how 
to do things. In the second Report which was sub- 
mitted by the Secretary of the Board, to the Legisla- 
ture, he took occasion to say, that 

" The want of reliable and accurate experiments in 
agriculture is now very generally felt, and it has been 
the desire of the Board to have such conveniences as 
would enable them to conduct a series of experiments 
in such a manner as to secure the confidence of the 
community. Those made by individuals in various 
parts of the State, have been very valuable, and in 
some cases, very costly^ 

As much as to say, if we can have all these things no- 
ticed above, we will show the people how they can be 
done cheaply. We shall see. That they have great facil- 
ities for doing this, no one will deny. That a farm 
having the fertiUzing material that might reasonably 
be expected from a family of five or six hundred per- 
sons, thirty to forty head of cattle and horses, and 
nearly a hundred swine, with a plenty of labor at a 
cheap rate, ought to do something a little extra, seems 
reasonable, with the State Treasury to back them up. 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 49.. 

Those who have read the preceding chapter care- 
fully, must be convinced, I think, that something is es- 
sentially wrong with our system of agriculture. My 
object in this chapter is to trace out some of the rea- 
sons why this state of things exists. Undoubtedly 
there are many reasons, and among others, the tinker- 
ing by the State ; or perhaps it would be more in ac- 
cordance with the facts in the case, if I were to say, 
by a few uneasy individuals, who for selfish purposes, 
or for a love of notoriety, or perhaps both, have grasped 
hold of this idea, to give character to their efforts, and 
thereby involve the whole people in the responsibility. 

I have thought it well to lay out before the people 
such thoughts upon the subject as seem to me wise and 
for the general good. In the outset I want to say that 
I have nothing to do with any one's private affairs. It 
is only in their public capacity, in their acts that in- 
volve serious evils upon community, that I wish to con- 
sider them. As a citizen and a farmer, having interests 
and rights which cannot be separated, and I desire not 
to separate them if I could, from those of all true men, 
I think I have a right to speak and compare my 
thoughts with those of my fellow men, that truth and 
right may prevail. 

I am perfectly aware that this " Board " are com- 
paratively in their infancy, and are in no wise respon- 
sible for many of the evils which have been considered. 
But in this I can see a link in the chain which is to 
bind the working-men of this country, as it has done 
in the old countries of the earth, making the poor 
5 



50 FARMING AS IT IS. 

poorer, and the rich richer. I hold that all tampering 
with any of the industrial interests of the country, 
either by the State or General Govei-nment, is to be 
lamented, and the sooner we Avash our hands of this, 
and leave all these interests free, and the people free, 
to make their own selection, the better it will be for us 
and those who are to come after us, — the better it will 
be for the future of our people. The great principle 
of supply and demand is sure to find its level, and the 
law of equivalents will preclude all possibility of any 
interests suffering, where the people are left free to act for 
themselves. There may be temporary embarrassments, 
but this law to which I have just referred, will soon rem- 
edy the evil. Every effort by the State or nation to 
circumscribe this or any other interest, will be another 
step in the ladder to the more perfect degradation of 
the people. 

I will now proceed to show how it is that the Board 
of Agriculture can never do anything to advance the 
interest of the farmer ; and that although they can do 
him no good, they may do him much evil. Perhaps I 
may be asked, Why seek to disturb them before they 
have had an opportunity to make a fair trial ? I an- 
swer, because in all countries where this idea has been 
long established, — where it has grown into a perma- 
nent and fixed law or institution, — it has universally 
degraded the laborer, and will do the same here. And 
through this universality of degradation of the farm 
laborer, it has permeated into all branches of industry, 
till labor and poverty are nearly synonymous. I see 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 51 

in this country a tendency to these same evils. Then, 
again, I have never been able to learn that the farmers 
themselves have sought for, or desired any such thing ; 
although I do not intend to consider them entirelv 
blameness, because they have been too much carried 
away by the show and tinsel with which they have been 
enveloped, and by their passiveness, it may have been 
thought pleasing to them. That some farmers have 
entered into this, is not to be denied ; but that they are 
a large minority, all must admit. There are in all 
communities certain individuals who are in affluent cir- 
cumstances, and certain others who, perhaps, have not 
thought deeply upon the subject, and have not been 
able to see how it would in the end affect them, who 
have taken hold with those who have only sought to 
promote their own interest, by sacrificing the dearest 
rights of a nation. 

That the object of the Board of Agriculture is to 
cheapen the value of all farm products in the market, 
thereby to return the smallest pittance possible for the 
labor bestowed, over the cost of the raw material, there 
is too much evidence on record for them to attempt a 
denial. I know that they will argue that they also in- 
tend to cheapen the cost of production, but they forget, 
in this, the law of supply and demand to which I have 
referred, and which no sophistry or cunning can abro- 
gate. The moment a surplus is in the market, down 
goes the price, and labor, and the small capital of the 
laborer alone, have to suffer. 

In the examination of the subject now under con- 



52 FARMING AS IT IS. 

templation, I shall be under the necessity of using the 
word raw material^ and tearing all may not understand 
this alike, I have thought an explanation of it, as it is 
usually understood by manufacturers, and in commer- 
cial parlance, and as I wish to have it understood here 
by the reader, might avoid a complicity of opinion. 
For, what is the raw material to one, is the manufac- 
tured article to another. Thus, to the shoemaker the 
raw material is the leather, the cloth, the kid, threads, 
cottons, &c., — in fact, whatever his shoes are made of, 
are to him the raw material ; — while these are the man- 
ufactured articles to the tanner, the morocco dresser, 
the cloth and thread manufacturer, &c. And then, 
again, this raw material to the tanner, &c., becomes 
the manufactured article to the farmer, the butcher, the 
wool and cotton grower, &c. So the reader will see 
that it is the connection in which the word is used, that 
ffives it its meanino;. 

There is one other difficulty that it will be well to 
notice, which meets us at the threshold of the argu- 
ment, and which, perhaps, I cannot so easily explain, 
but is of vastly more importance than the preceding, 
and that is this : A shroud of mystery is thrown over 
all, or nearly all farm operations, by the supposition 
that whatever grows out of the soil comes of nothing, 
— that is, something is made or grown of nothing. 
We look upon a field of grain, grass, or any plant, and 
grasp hold of it, and tear it from the soil, with the faint 
hope of making it yield a return equal to the amount 
of labor bestowed upon it, without reflecting that the 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 63 

raw material of which this crop is composed, is our 
capital, and every particle of the matter must be in some 
way returned to the soil, in order to obtain a similar 
crop. It is no more absurd to suppose that the mer- 
chant can sell his goods at the cost of clerk-hire, rents, 
&c., without regard to the first cost of the article sold, 
than to suppose the farmer can sell any farm product 
at the cost of the labor to produce it. That he has 
done this, and is now doing it, needs no other proof than 
is afforded in the second chapter of this work. This is 
one of my charges against the Board of Agriculture, 
for so mystifying the various processes of agriculture, 
by running one crop into another, attempting to make 
the farmer believe that if he loses on the corn crop, he 
will make it up on the grain or the grass, and if on 
neither of these, on his cattle, when every turn of the 
screw, as has been proved, reduces him lower and 
lower still. 

In this connection let me say to the farmers, that 
you have no hopes in any supervisory head or Board, 
of whatever color or pretence ; and, if possible, evade 
the whirlpool of destruction that has engulphed the ag- 
riculturists of all other countries who have instituted 
a tampering head, by doing your own thinking and 
fiorurino;. Although the loafers and idlers of our cities 
may desire cheap bread, that their vocation may not 
be disturbed, yet let us institute no power to any class, 
whose object is to rob us of our rights. This may be 
plain talk, but, if it is untrue, it is easy to refute it, — 
if not untrue, but true, it will stand. 



54 FAKMIXG AS IT IS. 

There is one other difficulty which might as well be 
settled here, and then, when we get into the argument, 
there wiU be less inclination to stop to explain. It is 
presumed by many that one industrial interest is in an- 
tao-onism to all other industrial interests. Thus, all 
those who consume the products of the farm, without 
producing them, are apt to suppose it to be for their 
advantage to cheapen whatever the farmer has to dis- 
pose of. This is short-sighted, as we soon shall see, 
yet such is the fact. And these non-producing classes 
being composed of many true, and highly useful 
classes of men, are yet composed, also, to a great ex- 
tent, of the idle, the vicious, the cunning, and the 
scheming, who are up to anything but honest work, in 
order to live by their wits. The truth is, that among 
all true men there is but one interest, although separate 
as the States, we are one as the Union. 

Although capital may get a temporary advantage of 
labor, when coupled with the various combinations to 
which I have just referred, and degrade it, yet, in the 
end, that also becomes degraded, and yields a small re- 
turn, crushing out, in time, the smaller capitalists and 
building up an aristocracy of capital, that has been 
the bane of most of the older nations of the earth. I 
know very well that self-interest is apt to warp the 
judgment even of good men, and that tliere seems to be 
some inducement for our city friends to institute such 
measures as will brino; to them the laroest amount of 
the essentials of life, at the lowest possible rate ; yet, 
when they claim to be tlie friends of those whom they 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 65 

seek to destroy, it is time to ask them to pause a mo- 
ment, that a better reckoning can be had. 

It must be perfectly amusing to all thinking men to 
see what means they resort to, to effect the various ob- 
jects to which I have referred. A few of the many 
reasons, as they occur to me, I will stop a moment to 
notice. Perhaps as effective as any is this : They say 
that all other kinds of business is " over-done," and 
therefore advise all young men, indiscriminately, to 
stick to the farm. If they were honest in this, and be- 
lieved what they say to be true, and it was for the pub- 
lic good, they would make fiirmers of their own boys, 
or advise them to be such, would they not ? Certainly, 
that is a fair inference. I refer now more particularly 
to our city friends and others, who are mainly influ- 
ential in moving the various machinery by which a 
public opinion is created, that the people are led to 
submit to the gross injustice that is heaped upon them. 
The Board of Agriculture at this time seem to be the 
most prominent, although other classes of individuals 
and corporations are acting in conjunction with them, 
to mould and shape this condition of thought among 
the people, to which I refer. Well, then, if farming 
is the desirable business which they claim it to be, and 
fit for all young men to engage in, hoAV is it that the 
sons of these very men so universally shun it, and seek 
out some other way to obtain the conveniences of life ? 
While many of these individuals have large families of 
children, yet some of the trades or professions monop- 
olize the whole, as far as I know. And although they 



66 FARMING AS IT IS. 

may be very fond of all the " goodies " that come from 
the farm, yet they, like the cat, you know, that Wiis 
fond of fish, prefer not to wet their paws. If all other 
kinds of business is " over-done " but farming, how is 
it that the wages of most of the professional laborers 
have nearly doubled within the last ten or twelve years, 
and farms have depreciated, where there is no pros- 
pective value aside from farming purposes, in about the 
same ratio ! The Board, with all its genius, will find 
it difficult to answer this ; and that the assumption is 
strictly correct, the record is too plain for them to 
deny ! 

The pay of the judges in most of our courts has 
been very much increased ; the per diem of our con- 
gressmen has also more than doubled ; the same is true 
in regard to the pay of the members of our Legisla- 
ture ; clergymen, lawyers, and doctors, get more pay 
than formerly, and even the Board of Agriculture had 
a couple of thousand or so granted last year, that was 
entirely additional to everything they liad ever before 
had. 

It seems that by an act of the last Legislature (1859) 
that all of the Agricultural Societies of the State are, 
to a great extent, to be placed under tiie care and con- 
trol of the Board of Afjriculture. 

Sec. 4 (chap. 232,) reads thus: "The Board of 
Agriculture shall have power to require the several 
Agricultural Societies receiving the bounty of the 
State, to offer premiums from time to time for xlgricul- 
tural experiments^ to be conducted in such manner as 
said Board may direct." 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 57 

It now seems that the Board, after having failed in 
establishing any successful experiments on the farm in 
their charge at Westboro', and having given up the 
idea of putting in successful practice their vague theo- 
ries, have got an act through the Legislature, nriving: 
them the power to control the County Societies, thereby 
throwing the responsibility upon them, and in this way 
expecting to evade the censure which they so justly 
deserve. Any practical farmer could have told them 
this before they commenced. Upon most all subjects 
men may theorize, with some degree of success, but 
agriculture. Here it will not answer, but must off 
coat and go to work. 

I am perfectly aware that the Board is a child of the 
State, and were it not for the treasury thereof, would 
be perfectly harmless of evil ; and as long as the State 
follows the delusive idea of oppressing one class of the 
people to the supposed advantage of other classes, and 
the oppressed class remain perfectly passive, so long 
men can be found to put in practice any measures how- 
ever absurd, without any thought of the future of the 
people. 

Perhaps all are not aware of the cost to the people, 
even now, to support the several branches of machinery 
to which I refer. These institutions are called by the 
act of the Legislature, " scientific and cdAicationaV 
The following are some of the appropriations for this 
purpose : 



58 FARMING AS IT IS. 

For bounties to Agricultural Societies, $12,800 00 

Salary of the Secretary of the Board, 2,000 00 

Travelling expenses of members of the Board,. . . . 2,200 00 

Travelling expenses of the Secretary of the Board, 250 00 

Other Incidental Expenses, . t 1 50 00 

The Salary of the Clerk of the Sec'y of said Board, 600 00 

Collecting Information on Agricultural Subjects, 1,000 00 

Printing Abstracts of the Reports, 1,000 00 

Ten thousand of the Report of the Board of Agri- 
culture, 5,500 00 



$25,500 00 



This twenty-five thousand five hundred dollars is 
drawn directly from the people by taxation, and fi3r the 
several purposes named above, annually, and will be 
increased every year. 

It costs to support the State Government, in- 
cluding the County taxes, nearly one million dol- 
lars, of which about eight hundred thousand is 
raised by direct taxation. Therefore, the sum which 
ffoes to maintain the various Agricultural branches of 
the govei'nment seems but small. Comparatively it is 
so. But the reader must remember that the whole of 
this great sum is made up of various small items, 
whether wise or not, is not our purpose now to con- 
sider, only as far as relates to the subject under consid- 
eration. It must be borne in mind that the amount 
drawn directly from the people by taxation, is but a 
very small item in the sum total, to the people, of the 
whole expense to keep up this deceptive and delusive 



BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. 69 

idea, which in so brief a space of time has taken such 
a strong- hold of community. We have some twenty- 
five or thirty pubHc exhibitions each year, which, if the 
cost coukl be estimated, would without doubt, super- 
cede the amount raised by taxation, more than a hun- 
dred thousand dollars. I very well know that a very 
considerable proportion of this comes from that class of 
men who are not, by their position, sensibly affected by 
this, only as communities of peoj)le are made up of in- 
dividuals, and what injuriously affects the working 
classes, will in the end affect all classes, since the rich 
of to-day may be the poor to-morrow, and vice versa. 

I have before said, and I repeat it here, that the 
mere money cost of the thing is nothing, comparative- 
ly, in the present ; but in the long future, when we be- 
come the greatest people of the earth, as the present 
seems to indicate, then we shall see that we have follow- 
ed a phantom, a delusion, by entanghng our various 
States and the National Government, with the indus- 
trial institutions of the country, till the people are com- 
pelled to look to the treasury and not to their own 
right arms for support. When our poor rates, as in 
England to-day, are more than our whole National ex- 
penditure, then we shall say, why could not we have 
profited by the experience of past ages, and left our in- 
dustry free. The natural law of supply and demand 
will preclude all possibility of any interest suffering as 
long as the people are left free to rely on their own ef- 
forts for support. Mix this up with cei'tain conditions 
and contingencies, building up an aristocracy of feeling 



60 FARMING AS IT IS. 

and sentiment, and labor becomes degraded, and the 
country is paralyzed, and we fail, as a nation, to fulfil 
our destiny. Far better would it be for the people to- 
day, to erect a sort of privileged hospital, or loafer's 
institute, wherein all this class of men could resort at 
pleasure, to enjoy to an unlimited degree the droppings 
of the treasury, if they Avould keep aloof from those 
interests about which they know but little, and save 
untarnished those institutions which are best cared for, 
when left entirely to themselves. 

Perhaps many of my readers may have a curiosity 
to know who these individuals are, constituting this 
" Board," and possibly the best argument that could 
be given in favor of my position would be to name 
them, as farming, like everything else, is a trade, and 
can be best prosecuted by those who best understand 
it, unless such are above the practical part of their 
business, and choose to dictate, while others do the 
work. How this is, the reader must judge for himself 
First in the list stands the 

Ex - Officiis. 
His Excellency, Natiiamkl P. Banks. 
His Honor J^i.ipiiai.kt 'J'kask, 
Hon. Oliver Wakner, Secretary of State. 

Appointed by the Governor and Council. 
Ephraim W. Bull, Marshall P. Wilder, William S. Clark. 

CJiosen by ike Societies. 
HiciiARD S. Fay, George B. Loring, SmoN Brown, 
Henry H. Peters, John C. Bartlext, John Brooks, 
Freeman Walker, Jaeez Fisher, Oliver C. Felton, 

Paoli Lathrop, Levi Stockbkidge, Geo. M. Atwater, 

Cyrus Knox, James S. Grinnell, Ciias. K. Tracy, 

Sam. H. Bushnell, Ciias. 0. Sewall, Nathan Durfee, 
Chas. G. Davis, George Marston, Eew. W. Garlner, 

Ch.4S. B, Allen, Mathew Smith, 

Chas. L. Flint, Secretary. 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 61 

With these men, individually, as citizens, I have 
nothing to do ; but as the Board of Agriculture, acting 
in this capacity, I claim I have a right in common with 
all other citizens, to speak. 

At the commencement of this chapter I made a few 
quotations from the Secretary's report, showing that 
they expected to render the farmers much service by 
instituting a course of experiments at the farm. At 
the expiration of five years, having failed in this, they 
have given it up, and now expect to act through the 
county v^ocieties, to effect this object. In this, also, 
they will fail, and for these reasons. In farming, what 
seems reasonable and practical in theory, will seldom 
stand the test of actual experiment. For instance, 
when they agreed to pay those boys ten cents per day, 
for six hours work, without doubt it seemed to them, 
as they say, " low," hardly enough to clothe them in 
the most economical manner. Yet, Mr. Flint now 
says, in his report that the old adage among a certain 
class of farmers is literally true, " one boy is a boy, two 
boys half a boy, and three boys no boy at all." This 
is practice, and from the fact of their not having known 
this before, shows they did not understand what they 
were about. I think it grossly wrong to saddle any 
considerable proportion of their errors upon those un- 
fortunate boys ; for this io among the smallest of their 
mistakes. Again Mr. Flint says : 

" The estimates on a preceding page of the amount 
earned by the boys on the farm are based on the rate 
of ten cents a day, which is the amount agreed upon 



62 FARMING AS IT IS. 

between the Board of Agriculture and the Trustees of 
the school, by the original contract made in 1854. 
That amount seems at first sight to be small, but in 
point of fact, as already intimated, it was far more than 
double what the labor, under all the circumstances, 
was worth to the farm." 

Here is a large farm, as we have seen, with a plenty 
of men to oversee these boys, of from 14 to 18 years 
of age, and the Secretary of the Board says, that 
they cannot earn anything like five cents a day, and 
board themselves. Yet these men claim that farming 
is a good business, and fit for everybody's sons to en- 
gage in, but their own. In fact all other business but 
this is " overdone," and at this a well-grown boy can 
earn hardly enough to salt his porridge. All this occurs 
after half a century of effort to establish the business 
upon a solid foundation. The Secretary further says 
that " a systematic debt and credit account was to be 
kept between the farm and the school, the Board cred- 
iting the school Avith the labor of the boys, at ten cents 
a day, of six hours each, and with the sum of three 
hundred and fifty dollars a year for the offal, and chai'g- 
ing it with the produce of the farm, at the usual prices 
in the neighborhood, with labor performed for the in- 
stitution," &c. Here is a ready market for everything 
that the farm produces, at the door, with all the labor 
they can possibly use, at rates scarcely suflScient to half 
pay the board of the ojjeratives, and yet the reason as- 
signed for the losses to the State is, the labor bill was 
more than double what it should liave been. The 
amount the Board received from the State in estimate 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 03 

of farm, stock, tools and funds, from the treasury, ac- 
cording to this report, is $29,081. The simple interest 
on this sum Avould be $1,744.86. This is what every 
farmer should look to, — the simple interest on his in- 
vestment ; and the Board should so consider it ; yet I 
can nowhere find a single word said about it, although 
they think they have cleared $1,000 a year for the 
State. 

Here is another item which is rather amusing, as it 
shows what close calculators these economical farmers 
are, who can calculate so accurately on the wages of 
the boys, when making up their account, but forget 
some other items, perhaps, that would interest the peo- 
ple quite as much. 

" The operations at the farm (this was 1856) 
have been continued as heretofore, though embar- 
rassment has been occasioned by the insufficient ap- 
'propriations made, on account, it is presumed, of a 
want of a full understanding of the circumstances of 
the case. From this cause the Board has labored under 
disadvantages of various kinds. Thus they have had 
only old and unsuitable farm implements, in many cases, 
to put into the hands of one hundred and fifty boys 
worked daily on the farm, and have lost an exceedingly 
valiiahle fertilizer in a liquid manure, which has run in 
such abundance that a man, boy and horse, would have 
been constantly occupied in distributing it over the 
farm, had the appropriation been sufficient to allow of 
their employment. This liquid manure, thus applied, 
would give the Board the power of increasing the pro- 
ductions of the farm many fold^ and of improving, if 
not enriching, the lands, which were in comparatively 
poor condition when its operations com.menced, while 
its removal would be a sanitary measure of great im- 



64 FAEMIXG AS IT IS. 

portance to the comfort nud well-being of the institu- 
tion." 

Thus, it seems, they lost, or had run to waste, man- 
ure enough to keep a man, boy and horse constantly at 
work, which if it had been applied would increase the 
^'■productions of the farm many fold^ 

In order to get at, as near as may be, what they lost, 
we shall have to see what they raised, because the Sec- 
retary tells us, they lost enough to have produced many 
times more than what they raised. Here is what they 
raised this year, (1856.) 

Corn, Oats, Rye, Peas, Beans . . 1,639.5 bushels. 

Eoot Crops 4,370'' " 

Hay 103 tons. 

I think that no observing farmer would estimate the 
value of sufficient manure to produce these crops with- 
out exhausting the soil, much less than $1,000. Mr. 
Flint says, "the amount lost exceeded that applied many 
fold," or in his own words, " the manure thus applied, 
would give the Board the power of increasing the pro- 
ductions of the farm many fold," besides being a great 
" sanitary measure." If I am right on the value, and 
we interpret " many fold " to mean three fold, it would 
seem that in this little item of manure, for one year, 
they lost the snug sum of $3,000. And these arc the 
men that claim their competency to show folks how to 
farm. It is said that " the world is full of wonders." 
In this same paragraph, from which I have just quoted, 
is other important matter. 



BOAED OF AGEICULTUEE. (35 

" Moreover," says Mr. Flint, " five or six milch cows, 
in addition to the present nnmber, might be Avintered 
without difficulty on the hay raised upon the farm ; and 
these cows are even now greatly needed to enable the 
Board to supply the school with milk, v^diile this ad- 
ditional number would considerably increase the facili- 
ties for the economical management of the farm the 
coming year ; but the want of the means to imrchase 
them has compelled the committee having charo-e of that 
dciiartment to defer it to a more favorable time. Ju- 
dicious expenditure is true economy, but the commit- 
tee did not feel authorized to incur a debt." 

With farmers generally, manure is money, but money 
is not always manure. How it is at Westboro', I do 
not know, but down here in Chelmsford, it would not 
have taken a very smart man if he was troubled with 
the "shorts," as farmers sometimes are, to have found 
some neighbor who would have been willino- to ex- 
change a few cows for this manure, to have saved a 
friend from such a loss of plant-food, as we have just 
seen. And if our unfortunate friend had any friends, 
I think they might have been seen inquiring for one of 
those institutions, where the inmates are apt to think 
everybody " crazy " but themselves. " Judicious ex- 
penditure is true economy." A better motto is seldom 
written, and with the first word ''judicious" italicized, 
I am willing to leave it, and would be glad to see it 
placed in gold letters over the Speaker's desk at the 
State House, to stand forth as a warning to all this 
class of pleaders for the people's money, who are will- 
ing to do anything for a living but honest Avork. Al- 
though, as I have before said, tlie money-cost to the 



6() FARMING AS IT IS. 

people is comparatively nothing, even if the Board 
took to themselves the whole of the $40,000 appropri- 
ated by the State to the institution, in addition to those 
sums already named. This is nothing. Three-fourths 
of the people have to rely on their ovrn right arms for 
support, and any tampering with those industrial insti- 
tutions, building up monopolies to circumvent the free- 
dom of labor, and forestalling the poor man's capital, , 
by the institution of a central power to dictate to labor 
its price, is mischievious and paralyzing. 

Sections 4 and 5 of the Act of 1859, chapter 232, 
reads thus : 

" The Board of Agriculture shall have power to re- 
quire the several Agricultural Societies receiving the 
bounty of the State, to offer premiums from time to 
time for Agricultural experiments, to be conducted in , 
such manner as said Board may direct. A Society 
which shall neglect, in any year, to comply with the 
several general laws concerning Agricultural Societies, 
or with such reiTulations of the Board of Agriculture, 
shall not be entitled to the bounty of the State, the 
year next succeeding." 

In accordance with the provision of this law, the 

Secretary of the Board issued the following mandate : 

AN EXPERIMENT FOR THE COUNTY SOCIETIES. 

Commonwealth of Massachusetts — Agricultural Department. 

Boston^ December 5, 1859. 
At a meeting of the State Board of Agriculture, 
held on the 1st inst., it was 

" Voted., That the several Agricultural Societies 
receiving the bounty of the State, be required to ofter 
three premiums for the most thorough, exact, and 
reliable experiments, upon the proper depth of applying 
manures, ]3ayable in the fall of 1862, as follows : 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 67 

"" Select a level piece of land, of any convenient 
size, from twenty square rods up to as many acres or 
more, which should be as nearly equal in its character 
and conditions as possible. Divide it into five equal 
parts, numbering them 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, for a rotation of 
three years. 

" Divide the manure which it is proposed to apply, 
and which should be of a uniform character, into four 
equal parts. At the time of fii'st plov\ang in the 
spring, spread evenly one fourth of the manure upon 
plot No. 1, and then plow the whole field of an equal 
depth. Apply another fourth of the manure to plot 
No, 2, and then cross ploAv the whole field to about 
half the depth of the first plowing. Spread another 
fourth of the manure upon plot No. 3, and harrow or 
cultivate the whole field ; after which sow or plant the 
whole evenly with any crop preferred. Finally, spread 
the remaining quarter-part of the manure upon plot 
No. 4. 

" Observe that by pursuing this course, each of the 
five lots will receive equally a deep plowing, a shallow 
plowing, and a harrowing or cultivating, the only dif- 
ference in them being that in No. 1 the manure is 
buried deep, in No. 2 shallow, in No 3 buried only 
slightly, but coated with loam, and in No. 4 left 
exposed upon the surface, while No. 5 gets no manure. 
The manure is to be spread broadcast, and as evenly 
as possible. The after cultivation should be the same 
on each of the lots, and the harvest of each should take 
place at the same time. 

" Let a statement of the character of the soil, whether 
light or heavy, dry or moitt, leachy or retentive of 
manures, the crop of 1859, kind and amount and mode 
of application of manure in 1850, size of field covered 
by the experiment, depth of first plowing, kind and 
amount of manure used in 18G0, kind of crop, when 
and how sown, number of times and manner cultivated, 
and weight of product on an average rod of each plot, 
be made in 18G0, and returned in the annual report of 
each Society. 



68 FARMING AS IT IS. 

" If there is a double product, as grain and straw, 
corn and stover, let the weight of the secondary pro- 
duct be given on each plot. 

" If the competitor weigh the whole crop, instead 
of cstiraatino; it by an average rod, there will be no 
objection to such a course. 

"A brief synopsis of the weather for each of the 
following months, by dividing each month into three 
parts, and using the terms dry, moist, and wet, to 
indicate the general character of the weather, will also 
be expected : 

First Third. Middle Third. Last Third. 

May. 
June. 
July. 
August. 
September. 

" A similar report of all the above Items, except the 
nature of the soil, will be made in 1861, and in 1862, 
when the pi-emiums will be awarded. No manure is 
to be applied to the second and third crops." 

" Voted, That the Secretary of the Board be re- 
quested to offer premiums which Avill secure an 
adequate compensation for the time and labor con- 
sumed in the experiment." 

I hereby notify your Society of the above vote. 
Evidence of a compliance with it will be required, 
before I shall be authorized to draw a certificate for 
the bounty to any Society. 

One of the greatest (obstacles in the way of agricul- 
tural progi-ess is the dltliculty of obtaining reliable 
facts and statistics, as a basis upon v.hlch to establish 
principles and construct theories. As a general ride, 
tlieories are first advanced, and then isolated facts arc 
brought forward for the purpose of proving their 
truthfulness. It is true that agriculture is not, in the 
usual sense of the term, and probably never will be- 
come, one of tlic exact sciences; yet there are mnu}^ 
things in connection with it which ought to be taken 
out of the region of conjecture, ami placed, by repeat- 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 09 

ed and multiplied experiments, upon a more substan- 
tial basis. A sinpile fact or experiment may be of 
only trifling value in itself considered, but when add- 
ed to scores or hundreds of others, the whole col- 
lectively may elucidate a doubtful point, or settle a 
vexed question. 

With these considerations in view, the Board asks 
and requires the attention of every Society in the 
State to render any aid in the solution of the question 
here considered, and to act in concert with it and with 
each other, in such a way as to give to the result the 
greatest possible practical and scientific value. I 
would suggest that the rotation be limited to com, 
grain, and grass. 

Allow me to call your attention to the Act of 1859, 

chapter 232, sections 1, 2, and 3, and especially to 

sections 4 and 5, authorizing the Board to make the 

above requirement, and the penalty of a disregard of, 

■ or a failure to comply with it. 

I would simply suggest that premiums of $25, $20, 
and $15, have been ottered by some of the Societies, 
and that it is desirable that no offers should beVsmaller 
than these amounts, as the object above indicated is to 
induce a multiplicity of experiments. 

Charles L. Flint, 
Sec. State Board of Agriculture, 

This speaks for itself, and clearly shows the incom- 
petency of the Board to comprehend the subject upon 
which they are engaged. Any observing farmer will 
see at once that to expei"imcnt upon the cultivation of 
the soil according to this programme, is totally imprac- 
ticable, as far as any beneficial results would occur. 
For instance, the idea of Mr. Flint is, to deposit the 
manure at the bottom of the furrow over plot No. 1 
and No. 2. Now every fai-mer knows that if manure is 



70 FARMING AS IT IS. 

spread upon the land, that in plowing, some of it will 
go to the bottom and some will not. Then in harrow- 
ing much of it is brought to the surface, which ren- 
ders this part of the experiment not only of no use, but 
positively injurious, as nothing has been learned, and 
the whole experiment fails, because there is no com- 
parison. 

Then again, after the manure is spread upon the 
land, and before it is possible to plow it, suppose a 
storm of a week's duration sets in, how does that affect 
the experiment, Mr. Secretary Flint ? 

*' Select a level piece of land, of any convenient 
size, from twenty square rods up to as many acres or 
more, which should be as nearly equal in its chai'acter 
and conditions as possible." How many pieces of 
land can be found in Massachusetts, containing even 
ten acres, which will come up to those requirements, 
so as to make the experiment tolerably conclusive ? 
There may be some, but they are not very plenty. 

The five years that the Board had charge of the 
farm at Westborough, was the most favorable oppor- 
tunity to experiment upon agriculture that can well be 
imagined. Yet if they could do nothing there to 
either satisfy themselves or the public, it is not to be 
supposed that they can institute any through the 
County Societies. In farming, we cannot calculate 
even for a day. A neighbor told me that he sent his 
men to hoeing potatoes one morning, and started for 
the city. When the men got on to the piece, they 
found the potatoes several inches under water. An- 



BOARD OF AGRICUTUEE. 71 

other told his men to mow till nine o'clock, then spread 
it out, and have the haj all raked and cocked up bj 
sunset. At ten o'clock it commenced rainine:, and 
continued dull for several days. In England, manure 
spread upon the land, and there left for several weeks, 
exposed to the elements, is said to produce the best 
results. Climate and the nature of the soil evidently 
have much to do with the best mode of cultivation. I 
hold that neither this Board nor any other Board that 
can be instituted, can sit dov^^n in their office at the 
State House, and devise any plans, or recommend any 
measures, that will be of any practical use to them- 
selves or any body else, in regard to agriculture ; and 
the longer the effi)rt is continued, the more they will 
be convinced of the truth of what I say. Of course, 
as long as the people quietly submit to being fleeced, 
and the cupidity of man is such as it is, men enough 
will be found to engage in this or any other movement, 
that their own individual interests may be subserved, 
even though a nation be led to mourn. 

1 came across an article in an agricultural journal 
on the above subject, written by a practical farmer, 
which had many good points in it, and I saw but little 
but what I could endorse, and will here insert it : 

PREMmMS Br THE STATE BOARD OF AGRICiJLrURE. 

I have seen the vote of the State Board of Agricul- 
ture, requiring the different county societies to offer 
premiums for the best experiments in applying ma- 
nures at different depths. 

This is a subject of much importance to the farmers 
of this Commonwealth, and any experiments which 



72 FAEMING AS IT IS. 

will give us reliable instruction upon this subject will 
be a public good. 

In looking o^er this offer, and the plan marked out 
by the Board, it appears to me that we may strictly 
comply with the letter of the instructions, and jet not 
get any reliable information upon the proper depth of 
applying manui-es. 

They do not tell us whether it is to be sward land, 
or land that has been cultivated one or more years. 
If we take sward land, and plow the manure for lot 
No. 1, underneath the sward, how shall we know 
whether it was the fact of its being beneath the sward, 
or the depth at which it was applied, that caused 
the different results ? 

When we come to lot No. 2, and try to cross plow 
it, and get the manure at half the depth, we infer the 
Board intended the experiment should be tried upon 
old land. 

We will take a piece of mellow ground, and spread 
the manure upon lot No. 1, and plow ten inches deep, 
and if the manure is fine and well composted, as the 
furrow slice ri:?es and cracks, the manure falls in, and 
gets well mixed with the soil, instead of being buried 
at the bottom of the furrow ; if the manure is coarse, 
much of it will be left where the plow will draw it 
up, when we come to cross plow at half the de2)th : 
thus we may follow the directions, and yet not furnish 
any reliable instruction upon this subject. The only 
way in which I could get the manure at a unitbrm 
(IciUh when plowing it into mellow laud, would be to 
follow the plow with a hoe, and draw the manure into 
the furroAV, and then turn the next furrow upon it. If 
the Board had required this, the experiment might 
have been useful. 

I will now go upon lot No. 2. It has been plowed 
deep, according to the directions. I will tiy to spread 
the manure upon the rough iurrows, for, according to 
the directions, I must not put the harrow upon it yet ; 
much of the manure falls into the holes ; 1 then cross 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 73 

plow it five inches deep ; at what depth does any one 
suppose the manure is covered ? To test it fairly, I 
think that No. 2 should have been rolled down smooth, 
and the manure placed in the bottom of the furrow, at 
half the depth of No. 1. 

I next spread the manure upon No. 3, and then I 
am told to take a harrow or cultivator, and go over 
the whole lot. What is the effect of this upon No. 2 ? 
Does not the harrow move much of the manure, and 
mix it with the soil, and may not the result be affected 
by the mixing as much as by the depth ? I think there 
should have been nothing but a bush harrow upon it 
after it was plowed. 

I am now to plant the whole lot, and then take the 
team and cart the manure upon No. 4. This looks 
some like book farming, to drive over the corn after it 
is planted I have always been taught to think a 
planted cornfield as almost sacred. We have all read 
of the honest English farmer, who complained of the 
hounds treading down his wheat in the spring, and 
was paid for the injury done ; but at the harvest time 
he found that the trampling had been an advantage to 
him ; so if No. 4 does the best, who can tell whether 
it was owing to the trampling and beating it got after 
it was planted, or the manner in which the manure 
was applied ? 

I think there will be but little practical difference in 
the condition of the manure upon lots No. 3 and 4, 
except for the first three or four weeks. I begin to 
run the cultivator through the corn about the 1st of 
June ; then the manure will be mixed with the soil the 
same as on No 3. They tell us that the after cultiva- 
tion must be the same upon each lot. But they do not 
tell us what that shall be. By using the plow, or 
Sawyer's imjjroved cultivator, we may hill it uji so as 
to spoil the whole experiment, and yet be entitled to 
the premium, according to the offer. 

An experiment conducted in so loose a manner is 
worse than none. They say nothing about how we 
7 



74 FARMING AS IT IS. 

shall plow it the second year. If the manure has been 
where they supposed it to be, when we plow No. 1, 
it will bring the manure to the surface for the second 
year, and the others will be buried. What instruction 
can we derive from such an experiment ? 

I have endeavored to take a practical view of this^ 
subject, feehng that when the Board hold the rod of 
state over the backs of the county societies, and say, 
thus shalt thou do, the public have the right to ask, 
what will be the practical benefit ? 

I submit at the close of this chapter, a schedule of 
the property at the farm at the time it came into the 
hands of the Board, also at the time it went back into 
the hands of the Trustees, or as they have taken it, in 
December. 

Further I submit the account of the Board with the 
Commonwealth for the year 1858. 

These statistics speak in stronger language than any 
thing that I can say, of the absurdity of the position 
that farming is a paying business, and fit for young 
men to engage in, when with all this capital to begin 
with, all the labor they want, at a less price than any 
farmer can clothe his boys, to say nothing of their 
board, and some five thousand dollars yearly in cash 
besides, and a market at the door for everythuig they 
raise — when with all these unprecedented advantages, 
they claim, as a reason for their short-coming, that the 
labor bill was too high, and the appropriations insig- 
nificant. Study and ponder. 



BOARD OF AGRICULTUEE. 



Schedule and Apj)raisal of the Stock, Tools, and Implements, to- 
gether loith the estimated value of the Land and Buildings referred 
to in the afireement between the Ti-ustees of the State L'eform 
School at Westboro' and the State Board of Agriculture, received 
April 1, 1854 : — 

1 Pair Fat Oxen $170 00 

3 Pairs Oxen— Red, $150; 

Brindle, flOO; Bay, 

$150 460 00 

25 Cows, at $32 each 800 00 

2 Heifers, at 8 1 5 each .... SO 00 

1 Grade Devon Bull 50 00 

2 Horses— Charley, #150; 

Kate, $125 275 00 

35 Swine 575 00 

12 Tons English 

Hav, ati?17..$204 00 

8 Tons Meadow- 

Hay, at $8... 64 00 
1 Ton English 

Hay, at $17.. 17 00 
^ Ton Straw 5 00 

4 Tons Corn Fod- 

der 24 00 314 00 

500 Bushels Corn, at $1 . . . 500 00 
40 Bushels Oats, at 50 cts. 20 00 
500 Bushels Carrots, at 20 

cts 100 00 

160 Bushels Turnips, at 20 

cts 32 00 

4 Straw Cutters 50 00 

1 Feed Trough 4 00 

12 Hay Forks 3 00 

6 Rakes 1 00 

12 Manure Forks 1200 

20 Shovels 5 00 

9 Spades 5 00 

12 Picks 12 00 

Manure Troll 1 00 

7 Iron Bars 7 00 

3 Stone Hammers 5 00 

1 Ox Wason 40 00 

1 Horse Wagon 20 00 

3 Carts 70 OOl 

2 Horse Carts 35 00 

3 Stone Drags 5 00 

G Ploughs 30 00 

3 Harrows 12 00 

2 Cultivators 4 00 

2 Hand Cultivators 4 OOl 

REAL ESTATE. 

Land, supposed about 285 acres $8,400 00 

Farm Barn 1 ,600 00 

Two Dwelling-houses 2,000 00 $12,000 00 

Total $16,08100 



8 Ox Yokes 10 00 

8 Draft Chains 8 00 

4 Trace Chains 3 00 

4 Stake Chains 3 00 

20x Sleds 10 00 

2 Horse Sleds 12 00 

1 Buffgy 50 00 

1 Sleigh 25 00 

Harness 65 00 

Stable Furniture, Buffa- 
lo Robes, &c 15 00 

Articles in the Tool Room 10 00 

1 Iron Roller 20 00 

1 Fanning Mill and Corn 

Sheller 12 00 

Seed Corn 4 00 

5 Bushels Beans 10 00 

8 Door Chains 2 00 

1 Seed Sower 5 00 

2 Pairs Steelyards 3 00 

54 Bushels Potatoes 40 00 

150 Pounds Guano 4 00 

Superphosphate 48 00 

1 50 Strawberry Boxes 4 00 

17 Hoes 3 00 

1 Drill 2 00 

10 Wheelbarrows 6 00 

Beetle and Wedges 2 00 

Lot of Measures 1 00 

Grass Shears 1 00 

Iron Rakes 1 00 

4 Water Cans 4 00 



3 Bog Hooks 

9 Axes 

3 Saws 

3 Ice Hooks 

Tongs 

2 Cross-cut Saws. 

2 Hand Saws 

12 Baskets 

6 Scythes 2 00 

12 Snaiths 6 00 

Grindstone 7 00 

$4,081 00 



76 



FAEMING AS IT IS. 



INVENTORY 

Of Personal Property on ilie State Farm, Westboro', Dec. I, 1858. 



30 
20 
200 
100 
50 
25 
25 
20 



60xen ^'530 

17 Cows 850 

2 Hereford Cows 300 

1 Hereford Bull 200 

1 Hereford two yearling 

Heifer 100 

1 Hereford Bull Calf.... 75 
1 Jersey Cow, (diseased 

in udder) 40 

1 Jersey Heifer 100 

1 Devon Cow 100 

1 Devon Heifer two years 

old 

1 Devon Heifer one year 

old 

1 Devon Heifer Calf. . . . 

1 Durham Cow 

1 Durham Bull Calf. . . . 
1 Durham Heifer Calf. . . 
1 Grade Devon Heifer. . . 
1 Grade Jersey Heifer . . . 

1 Grade Ayshire Calf 

lAyshireBuU 75 

5 Horses 500 

2 Fat Hogs $>30 00 

4 Breeding Sows.. 60 00 

1 Boar 25 00 

52Shotes 300 00 

14 Sucking Pigs. . . 'k5 00 440 
81 tons English Hay . . .. 1,215 

4 tons Rowen 60 

36 tons Meadow Hay 250 

2 tons Millet 24 

6 tons Straw Hay 48 

15 tons Corn Stover 1 20 

536 bushels Shelled Indian 

Corn 53G 

590 bushels Ruta-Bagas. . . 118 

1520 bushels Turnips 304 

107G bushels Carrots 269 

117 bushels Seed Potatoes. 58 
50 bushels Oats 27 

2 bushels Buckwheat 1 

30 bushels Wheat 45 

8 bushels Barley. . . 'r> 

3 bushels Rye 3 

670 bushels Beets 167 

400 bushels Parsnii^s, by es- 
timation 100 

4 Hay Cutters 40 

1 Feed Trough 4 

10 Hay Forks 4 

30 Hay Rakes 5 

26 Manure Forks 32 



50 00 



100 
22 
61 
2 
15 
3 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
3 
4 
3 
10 
4 
1 
2 
2 
2 
5 
9 
2 
6 
1 
1 
1 

1 
1 
1 
4 

4 



Shovels 50 00 

Spades 18 00 

Picks 61 00 

Manure Hooks 100 

Iron Bars 15 00 

Stone Hammers 5 00 

Ox Wagon 35 00 

Two-Horse Wagon 20 00 

One-Horse Wagon 15 00 

Lumber Wagon 50 00 

Job Wagon 60 00 

Ox Carts 60 00 

Horse Carts 140 00 

Stone Drags 6 00 

Ploughs 90 00 

Harrows 20 00 

Cultivator 3 00 

Horse Hoes 12 00 

Hand Cultivators 2 00 

Horse Harrow 4 00 

Ox Yokes 12 00 

Draft Chains 12 00 

Derrick Chains 10 00 

Stake Chains 4 00 

Ox Sled 4 00 

Horse Sled • 5 00 

Two-Ilorse Double-run- 
ner Sled 10 00 

Pleasure Sleigh 10 00 

lot of old Harnesses. . . 32 00 

Harness 10 00 

Horse- Cart Harnesses. 32 00 

Trace Chains 3 00 

Stable Furniture 10 00 

Furniture in Scale Room 5 00 

Iron Roller 20 00 

Fanning Mill and Corn 

Shelier 12 00 

Stone Elevator 165 00 

bushels Seed Corn 4 00 

bushel Seed Beans 2 00 

Seed Sower 3 00 

Platform Scale 7 00 

Strawberry Boxes 100 

Hand Hoes 20 00 

Hand Drills 6 00 

Hand Hammers 3 00 

Wheelbarrows 40 00 

Beetle, with Wedges.. 2 00 

Grindstones 10 00 

Water Cans 2 00 

Bog Hoes 5 00 

Axes 5 00 

WoodSaws 5 00 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



ii 



Glee Hooks 2 00 

1 pair Ice Tongs 2 00 

2 Cross-cut Saws 6 00 

Carpenters' Tools 18 00 

G Scythes and Snaiths. . • 3 00 

20 Baskets 6 00 

18 Milk Cans 10 00 

500 feet Pine Lumber 7 00 

4 Buckets 1 00 

3 Milk Pails 60 

1 Siu-cyor 's Chain 2 00 

1 Ox Shovel G 00 

I Spirit Level 2 00 

1 Swill Cart 40 00 

1 Uct'rigerator 10 00 

2 Derricks 75 00 

Household Furniture.. 100 00 

1 Garden Rue 75 

15 Corn Cutters 2 00 

1 Root Cutter 10 00 

1 Saddle 4 00 



8 Iron-Toothed Rakes. . . 3 00 

3 Wheel Hoes 3 00 

1 AVheel Stone Drag 8 00 

G Stone Boat Pin nk 5 00 

Plank for six Sled Run- 
ners fi 00 

Furniture in Black- 

smitl^'sShop 30 00 

Gate Hangings 5 00 

20 Weedine Trowels 1 2U 

1 Corn Fork 1 50 

Carboy Sulphuric Acid 6 51 

1 I'run'g Saw and Chisel 1 00 

8 Corn Bags 1 00 

4 Sack Bags 50 

15 Acres of Winter Rye on 

the Ground 75 00 



$^: 



870 56 
373 48 



Cash on hand Bee. 1, 1858, 

Total $59,244 04 



C. L. Flint in Account with 

The State Boaed of Agricultuke. 

1854. Dr. 

April 13, To cash received from State Treasurer, $500 00 

" 18, " cash received frorc State Treasurer, 500 00 

May 23, " cash received from State Treasurer, 300 00 

June 20, " cash received from State Treasurer, 900 00 

" 25, " cash received from State Treasurer, 200 00 

July 1, " cash received from State Treasurer, 500 00 

" 3, " cash received from State Treasurer, 100 00 

Aug. 3, " cash received from State Treasurer, 750 00 

Sept. 4, " cash received from State Treasurer, 850 00 

Oct. 5, " cash received from State Treasui'er, 800 00 

" 7, " cash received from State Treasurer, 200 0;> 

Nov. 4, " cash received from State Treasurer, 400 00 

*' 27, " cash received from Treas. State Ref. School,.. . 500 00 

$6,500 00 
1854. Ck. 

April 13, By cash paid fe-r two yoke of oxen at $1C0 $320 00 

" 13, " cash paid S. N. White for expenses on the firm 153 00 
" 19, " cash p .id Rngglc^, Kourse and Mason for tools, 

guano, (Sic." 328 92 

May 17, " cash paid Davenport for sujjerphosphate 23 97 

" 17, " c ish paid Stearns for potash to be used on the 

firm 31 76 

" 19, " cash 15 ud Morrill for ground bone 12 50 

" 20, " cash paid J. Newell for farmdiorsc 170 00 

"^ 23, " cash paid Hammond for nails, posts, &c., tor 

piggery 200 00 

June 20, " cash paid Eaton for lumber for piggery, i^c. .. 827 29 

" 28, " cash paid Hammond fur shini:;les, labor, &c 209 00 

7* 



- 78 FARMING AS IT IS. 



July 


1, 


(( 


13, 


Aug. 


3, 


" 


3, 


Sept. 


7, 


*' 


16, 


Oct. 


5, 


<< 


7, 


Nov. 


3, 


" 


7, 


" 


15, 


ti 


28, 



cash paid S. N. White to pay laborcis on farm G50 00 
cash paid Stevens for scales lor tlie farm . ... . 17 81 
cash paid Hammond for labor, lumber, &c., for 



Pii 



5.50 00 



S. Nrwhite to pay for hay 212 00 

cash paid S. N. White for expenses on the farm 135 00 
cash paid Hammond fjr labor on piggery and 

tool house 594 00 

cash paid S. N. "White for laborers on the farm 828 12 

cash pail S. N. W'liite for expenses on tlie firm 240 00 

cash jjaid S. Brown for mounting map of survey 1 50 

' cash paid Hammond for labor on tool house. . . 300 00 

■ cash paid Hammond for labor on tool house. . . 175 00 

cash paid S. N. White for labor on the farm 125 00 

$0,095 87 
By cash on hand Dec. 1, 1854, 404 18 

$G,500 00 

Boston, Dec. 1, 1854. 
I have examined the foregoing account, and find it correctly cast and 
properly vouched. 

J. H. W. PAGE, 

Chairman of Auditing Committee. 



In presenting tliese estimates I want the reader to 
distinctly understand, that the object is not to find fault, 
but a desire to place things truly before the people ; for 
the Board of Agriculture claim that they can benefit 
the farmer, by instructing him to farm in a way that 
will be lucrative and pleasant. And of course if they 
can show other folks how to farm profitably and pleas- 
antly, they can do so themselves, for they cannot im- 
part to others what they do not know. 

This is where I take issue with them, for I believe 
that they do not know how to farm profitably them- 
selves, and if they undertook to do so, it could not be 
done pleasantly. Also, that they do not intend to ben- 
efit the farmer, and if they did so, the State, with ex- 
isting public pohcy, would not appropriate a single 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 79 

dollar to aid tliem, and they (the Board) would be the 
last men in the world to ask it. For they practice upon 
the belief that their interest, and the interest of their 
aiders and abetters, is in antagonism with the interest 
and good of the farmer. The power behind the throne 
being more potent than the throne itself. 

Therefore, I again call attention to the schedules 
here presented, as a part of my argument against them. 
In their estimate of the property when it came into 
their possession, April 1, 1854, they appraised 36 head 
of neat cattle at $1,510.00, or SllH a piece. On Dec. 
1, 1858, they make their 41 head of cattle worth $2,- 
810.00, or $68|f a head. Making cattle worth some 
50 per cent, more in the fall of the year than in the 
spring, after being wintered through. This is not all, 
for every intelligent farmer knows that, ail things be- 
ing equal, the sale value of cattle in the fall of 1858, 
was some 50 per cent, less than it was in the spring of 
1854. 

There are many other items in these inventories that 
I do not care to notice, but are worthy of a moment's 
attention to the reader in passing. And then, in view 
of all these facts, and the many others I shall notice in 
these pages, with what claim of fairness can they say 
they have cleared or saved money for the State, unless 
in their definition of the term (" State ") they mean a 
few speculators, stock jobbers, and State House farm- 
ers. 

And then the idea of Mr. Flint, that they required a 
special " appropriation " by the State, to possess them- 



80 FARMING AS IT IS. 

selves of a simple contrivance to cart liquid manure to 
the field, to be used by a " man and boy," and for the 
lack of vv^hich, they lost some f 3,000 worth a year, of a 
" valuable " fertilizer, and run the risk of breeding a 
disease among the people that might have depopulated 
the whole village ; and according to his account of the 
matter, they should have been indicted as a common 
nuisance. A simple contrivance of a half hogshead 
rigged upon a pair of horse cart wheels, that might 
have cost 50 or GO cents, would have answered very 
well as a temporary affair, till they could have got an 
'■ act " through the Legislature making a special appro- 
priation for the purpose, as follows : 

An Act to protect the olfactory nerves of the Board 
in their peregrinations at Westboro', from the effluvium 
escaping from liquid ammoniacal destruction. 

Just think of it, two dwelling-houses, f 2,000 ; 1 pig- 
gery, $2,500 ! And let me say that Westboro' is not 
the only place where the pig-sty is the most costly of 
the two, for this is the " poetry " of the Board, (if I 
understand it,) reduced to plain "prose." Human 
farm cattle is but the adjunct to improved " Durhams " 
and grunting " Berkshires." 



CHAPTER IV. 

BOAED OP AGRICULTURE, CONTUSrUED. 

Public Meeting at the State House — Resolutions — Massachusetts Society 
— A New Society — The labor of the Old Countries — We have as yet 
done nothing for Agriculture — Price of Products — Glut the Markets 
— Keep your Heifer C.ilves — Plant one acre more — The i^rice of Farms 
— Agricultural Fairs — Calf Raising — Cost of Raising — Net loss— No 
funds of their own— Another State Fair — Three thousand dollars — Mr. 
Fay and the Hay Crop — Profit — The Price of Cattle — Auction — 
50,000 Paupers — Legislators — City Property — Fancy Farming — Fast 
Horses — Distress in the West — Farm Products not Remunerating — 
No. of Agricultural Societies — Currency. 

In the early part of 1857, a public meeting was 
called at the State House for the purpose of deliberat- 
ing upon the expediency of establishing a new State 
Agricultural Society. This was in addition to the 
Massachusetts Society and the Board of Agriculture. 

The meeting was called to order by Mr. Marston, 
of Barnstable, and on motion, Col. J. H. W. Paige, 
of Boston, was called on to preside, and Benj. F. Mills, 
of Williamstown, was appointed Secretary. 

Mr. Comstock, of Springfield, introduced the follow- 
ing resolution : — 

Ilesolved — That a Committee, to consist of one member from 
each County here represented, be appointed by the Chuir, to con- 
sider and report on the propriety of organizing a State Agricul- 

81 



82 FAEMING AS IT IS. 

tural Society, and if deemed proper by them, to report a plan of 
organization for such Society. 

This resolution was discussed by Hon. M. P. Wilder, 
Mr. Proctor, of Danvers, Hon. Simon Brown, and 
others. 

Mr. Lewis, of Framingham, said " he was a member 
of the old chrysalis society, and of the Board of Agri- 
culture. He found great ignorance among the people 
concerning the State Agi-icultural Society ; many knew 
nothing about it. It had a respectable existence, he 
believed, in State street, and was likely to be a money 
making concern. The State paid it $600 per annum, 
and some said it was spent in good dinners ; and he was 
glad that the Western people had come here and de- 
manded to know what was really done with the money. 
The result of this meeting would propably be to bring 
out the State Society to the doing of some good, as it 
ouGfht to do, and it would not be a bad thin2; that the 
incorporation of some Young American blood should 
speedily take place among the old-fogy, aristocratic, 
but respectable members of the Society." 

It came out in the discussion of the above resolution, 
that the Massachusetts Society had done some good, 
according to the interpretation given by the various 
speakers, who seem to be, as far as rej)orted, mainly 
composed of the old Massachusetts Society and the 
Board of Agriculture. They had imported some blood 
stock, had appropriated $1000 for the best mowing ma- 
chine, and had also appropriated another thousand to 
be distributed in premiums by the United States Agri- 
cultural Society. 

Mr. Copeland, of Lexington, " complained that noth- 
ing yet had been said in favor of estabhshing a new 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 83 

society. And no one had stated, in describing tne ad- 
vantages held out by the old society, that these advan- 
tages were such as the farmers in the State demanded. 
*•' He thought that, as compared with the associations 
of other countries, the labors of agricultural societies 
were as nothing. They have never had, in the first 
place, a sufficient support from the State, and they 
were not able to penetrate below the crust of informa- 
tion which the farmer demanded. They had never 
encourased the talent of such men as Liebio:, Bous- 
singault, or Johnson, or had a literature that was as 
respectable as it ought to be. The agricultural news- 
papers of the country," Mr. Copeland said, " were 
much beloAv the standard of those of other countries ; 
and he Avould not be satisfied that the literary duties 
of our agricultural societies were properly done, until 
they established a quarterly journal of agriculture, as 
other countries had. Agricultural professorships in 
our colleges should also be established, and the farmer 
inade to know that wearing a green jacket and blue 
overalls and driving a team, was not all that designated 
a farmer — but that he was a man of mind, and should 
impart it to his occupation. He moved that a com- 
mittee of five be appointed to take into consideration 
whether anything can be done to benefit the cause 
of agriculture in this Commonwealth in a permanent 
shape." 

The above, among others, are the things that were 
said and done at this meeting. And I place them in 
these pages, because they foreshadow what I have all 
along said, that we have just commenced, as it were, 
to tamper with the agricultural interests of this coun- 
try. Not a word has been said about the cost 
and market price of a single article produced upon the 
farm. Their whole object seems to be to glut the mar- 
ket with all the goodies of the farm, at the lowest pes- 



84 TARMING AS IT IS. 

slble price. They are fond of nice roasts, porter-house 
steaks, and plum pudding, and they know tliat the way 
to get them cheap is to keep the supply in excess of 
the demand. Therefore all manner of plans are insti- 
tuted to deceive the farmer, professing great friendship 
for him, till his crops are well started and the largest 
breadth possible is appropriated, and twice as many 
cattle are raised as are needed, and then they turn 
round and laugh at them for their stupidity. Thus in 
1855 and 1856, the hue and cry went round the coun- 
try, — " keep your heifer calves." At this time cattle 
had been selling at prices nearly remunerating. That 
is, a prudent farmer could get some pay for his labor 
and some per cent, on his capital, by producing milk, 
beef, cattle, butter, &c. But this did not suit our city 
friends. 

To elucidate what I have said, I will give a state- 
ment which is published in the Secretary's Ecport of 
the Board of Agriculture. I shall suppress the name, 
because I presume the owner is not very anxious to 
have it in this connection made any more notorious. 

" The ten calves which I have entered for premium, 
do not come under the rules for premium, as they are 
not over four months and ten days old. They are ten, 
taken from eighty-six, that I have raised since the 1st 
of November, 1856. I then began to raise calves by 
getting them from milk farms, where they could be 
obtained at one dollar per head, thinking that 1 might 
raise eight or ten heifers for cows, but they did not 
want to part with heifers and not males, so I took 
both, and continued through the winter to the 20th of 
May, 1857. 

" I then had sixty three living, and had lost seven by 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 85 

the scours and cold weather. The herd had beccme 
so hirgc that I then turned them to pasture in Kew 
Hampshire, about ninety miles off. I lost three by 
having to leave them out over night, in a cold rain, 
snow and hail storm, on the journey. They became 
chilled and died after they were turned to pasture. I 
lost two by scours and one by getting mired. The 
rest, fifty-seven in number, are doing well. I have 
continued to raise all that I could get since the 20th of 
May. There are now twenty-nine calves, at home, of 
which these ten are the oldest. 

" I have tried to raise them as cheap as I could, and 
in order to do this I have tried various ways, as milk 
has been high and sells well on account of the high 
price of cows ; and many families are not willing to 
pay for fodder and cows the money asked, choosing to 
buy their milk. The price for milk is four cents per 
quart at the house, in Beverly, and six cents delivered. 
I tried oil cake boiled and mixed with milk, which does 
well if too much is not given at a time, as in most cases 
it will give calves the scours. I have used scalded In- 
dian meal and milk, and scalded flour and milk, all of 
which does very well if care is taken not to over-feed, 
so as to bring on the scours. This disease is bad, for 
it takes a long time for the calves to recover from it, 
and if over-fed it will come on again. 

" The cost of raising is about |2.50 per head, until 
weaned. The last twenty-nine have been turned to 
pasture as soon as taken from the cows, at one, two and 
three days old ; thete they learned to eat grass and 
drink water while young. When from three to four 
weeks old they would eat sufficient to wean, and were 
left to graze for themselves. No meal has been given 
the last twenty-nine ; scalded meal and flour, milk and 
grass, has been their keeping." 

Thus it seems, our friend went into the calf-business 
quite extensively, and I suppose then had fuU faith in 



86 FAEMJiSG AS IT IS. 

the judgment of the fancy, and thought their philan- 
thropy unbounded, as they had calved out an expedir 
tious way to those bhssful days when a man can sit 
down under his own " vine and iig tree," and enjoy the 
well-earned fruits of a successful speculation, I pro- 
pose to bring those calves up to the present time and 
see what they have cost, — what they will bring in the 
market, and count the profits ; as this is the time to 
sell them when they are just coming into use. The 
steers it would be well to let them run another sum- 
mer, but the heifers we will suppose all to come in this 
spring, (18G0,) and although they must be small, and 
what would be termed ordinary, if the eame process 
was continued in feeding, that was commenced. Yet, 
it costs less to bring cattle up in this way than it does 
on better keeping. But, I suppose our friend had an 
eye to the profits, rather than the fancy of the article. 
I shall have to make an average thing of it, and if I 
deviate at all, it shall be in favor of my ambitious 
friend. 

If I understand my friend correctly, he bought in 
all, 86, and lost in various ways, 10, leaving 76. If I 
do not understand him correctly, he will please excuse 
me, for if he had a larger number than this, his profits 
will be greater, and if less, less. But, as I shall reckon 
them by the head, it will not make any essential dif- 
ference. 



BOAED or AGRICULTURE. 87 

Calves Dr. 

To first cost $8G 00 

" keeping till weaned, at $2.50 per head 190.00 

" two men, horse and wagon 8 days, to drive to pasture 

90 miles 24.00 

" expense on the road 40.00 

" pasturing and salt, at $1.50 per head, 1857 114.00 

" expense returning from pasture 50.00 

" wintering 76 calves, at S8,00 per head 608.00 

" driving to pasture, pasturing, and return, at $3,00 

per head, 1858 228.00 

« wintering, at $9,00 per head 684.00 

" pasturing, driving, &c., 1859, at $3.50 per head. ... 266.00 

" wintering, at $11,00 per head, 1860 836.00 

" interest on investment 120.00 

Total expenditure $3,246.00 

Cr. 
By 76 three year old steers and heifers, at $25,00 per 

head $1,900.00 

Nett loss $1,346,00 

All the explanation this needs, is this. The cattle 
must be pretty nice to bring these prices this spring, 
and the keeping has been such as would make only or- 
dinary cattle, as every farmer can testify. Coarse 
meadow hay and a Httle meal the first winter, (1857,) 
and the last part of this winter, (I860,) is all that 
could be allowed. It would take a man but a few 
years to spend a fortune in this business. How this 
man managed with his cattle, I do not know ; perhaps 
some died the first winter, if so, it would seem to be 
fortunate, as far as profits are concerned. But this I 
know, that there has been no time they could be sold 
without a loss, and the sooner the smaller. Perhaps 
my friend did not think when commencing the business, 
it would be so general. But he must recollect that a 



88 FARMING AS IT IS. 

very large joart of the fanners hare no other way for 
means to pay their taxes, etore bills, and the thousand 
other things they must have, but to sell their stock. 

It seems th.at it cost to raise these cattle, to reckon as 
closely as I have reckoned, $42,71^*^ each. I have 
made no allowance for accidents or mishaps, which un- 
doubtedly there must have been many ; and yet a loss 
of $17,71^*j has been sustained on each creature. If it 
should be claimed that the sale price is too low, let me 
say that I have this month, Feb. 1860, bought of a cat- 
tle trader, second handed, from a member of the Board 
of Agriculture, a three year old heifer, forward in calf, 
and in all particulars, as far as I could judge, having 
the requisites of a good cow, for $22,00, or three dollars 
less than these are appraised at. One fact in agriculture 
is worth a bushel of theories, and, that truth and right 
may be established, ought to be a satisfactory reason to 
all, for this reference. I know of my own knowledge, 
that no man can make moderate wages, and a small 
per cent, en his investment, by raising medium cattle 
at a less price than $20 for the first year, $15 for the 
second, the same for the third, and then the price must 
be increased, unless we get either milk or work from 
them. I also presume that few farmers need be told 
that generally it is better to sell cattle from the farm 
than cattle food ; but, if this does not pay for the labor 
bestowed, every farmer ought to know that it is better 
to cease cropping the land, as the crop of this year is 
the very best material to make succeeding crops that 
can be devised, and to remove them without sufficient 



BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. 89 

compensation for the labor bestowed to do this, and 
also pay for labor and expense to return to the soil the 
fertilizing material taken off, is idle, and wasting one's 
energies to no good to himself,, and a positive injury to 
others. 

In another part of this work I shall explain more 
particularly how this is, and how it is that the farmers 
live, and how that, by the sale of their products below 
the cost, they are putting their capital and labor com- 
bined against the poor man's labor, thereby crushing 
the poor to the condition of the serfs of the old coun- 
tries, and hastening those " halcyon days " that has 
been so eloquently and graphically elaborated upon, by 
those particular friends of the farmer, in the resolutions 
and remarks which are partially introduced at the 
commencement of this chapter. 

Any one to read over carefully the report of the 
meeting to which I have referred, also the speeches of 
the various individuals who compose the Board of Ag- 
riculture, and many others, who are at work through 
the press and in other ways, cannot help seeing that a 
strong effort is being made to establish in this country 
similar institutions that exist in the old countries, to 
keep down the pi'ice of labor. I class all workmg far- 
mers with all other working men, and think they all 
should be tenacious of their rights, and look sharp to 
their Interests. It does not follow that because a man 
has a farm he should continue to crop it, unless the 
crops yield a return equal to a small ])er cent, as profit 
8* 



90 FARMING AS IT IS. 

after paying for the labor, over the value of the raw 
material composing the article produced. 

For as long as the farmers sell their products below 
the cost of production, a man would be a fool to buy a 
farm. And this is the reason why farms are continually 
growing cheaper. When the population and wealth of 
the State are rapidly increasing, this class of property 
is going the other way. And to this cause may be 
attributed neai'ly all of the revulusions in trade and 
manufactures, which are so common of late, and so 
alarming in their extent and influence upon the people. 
The former's sons throu2;hout this and other New En^;- 
land States, as soon as they come to years of discre- 
tion and obtain their majority, become disgusted with 
the rewards of their toil upon the farm, seeing that 
they have no means of supplying many of the most 
common and reasonable wants of life, rush into anything 
and everything, having no previous culture or training, 
hoping to strike a favorable vein, but soon learn to their 
horror that they have not only made a mistake, and lost 
their time, but in too many instances, the funds of some 
kind friend has been sacrificed. They then either re- 
turn to the farm, or if too proud for this, choose rather 
to become the " hewers of Avood and drawers of water" 
in some city, and too often bring disgrace and pain upon 
their friends when they are least able to bear it. This 
is a brief but too true a picture of every day life in 
" fiirming as it is ; " and shows conclusively the absurd- 
ity of supposing that our sons can do, what we never 
have done, earn a li\ing at farming. It is true we live, 



BOARD OF AGRICULTUEE. 91 

but not by our trade. And that farmer who does not 
often make success outside of his calling, has got to 
either half live, waste his acres, or sell for a price what 
little plant-food yet remains in the soil, without the 
means to reinstate it. 

This is New England farming, and although this and 
other States spend large sums, and stop at no means to 
create a large surplus in the market, seldom do any- 
thing to ascertain the prime cost of a single article pro- 
duced. 

What they denominate good farming, that is, over- 
stocking the mai'ket with farm products, is to the far- 
mer the worst kind of farming, for when we fail to get 
the cost of our products, not only is our labor in the 
same proportion lost, but our past earnings has to be 
sacrificed, that the non-producers may eat the bread of 
plenty at a small cost. 

If the Board of Agriculture really wanted to benefit 
the farmer, as they profess, it would be the simplest 
thing in the Avorld to institute measures to do it. Not 
that the farmers desire to have them do this, for I am 
very sure that if they cannot do their own cyphering, 
no body of men that can be instituted, will do it to 
their advantage for them. 

But supposing this, supposing that the State in her 
corporate capacity, acting through the Board of Agri- 
culture, desired the elevation, remuneration and posi- 
tive good of the farmer, and this Board were the expo- 
nents of this idea, what then would the Board do ? 
Would they say that farming was the most profitable 



92 TAEMING AS IT IS. 

business In the world, paying a profit of several hun- 
dred per cent., and at the same time healthy, respect- 
able and honorable ? Would they not, in the first 
place, go to work and ascertain if such was the fact? Af- 
ter having tried it for five years under the most favorable 
circumstances that any man or body of men ever went 
to farming, and there ascertained that they could not 
make the farm pay the labor bill, to say nothing about 
any per cent, on a capital of some $30,000, when this 
labor, much of it, was to them comparatively of no 
cost at all. For if those boys were bad, that is no evi- 
dence that they were not good to work, and many of 
them Avere capable of doing more than half a man's 
labor. 

If they were really honest, and meant to return to 
the farmer information that would be some compensa- 
tion for the cost to the farmer of their support, would 
they in their next report, after having failed in their ex- 
periment at Wcstboro', cited as evidence of the mon- 
strous profits of farming, the fact of a man who in order 
to obtain a premium, reported that he made nearly 200 
per cent, profit on a crop of oats, when to do this he 
had sold to a neighbor straw enough to fill a bed, and 
charged him a cent per pound for it, and then called 
his 4,500 pounds worth $45,00. Is that " publishing 
only what is useful,' or is it deceiving the people ? 
Every farmer knows that ordinarily oat straw is worth 
but little for the purpose to which it is usually put. 
And this is the purpose which the Board recommend 
tlie farmers to put it to, viz., feeding to ttock. 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 93 

For the last few years, nearly all the straw, and most 
other food, that has been fed to cattle has been a total 
loss to the farmer, as the value Increase has been hardly 
enough to pay the labor bill. Perhaps my friend will 
pardon a single suggestion if he should think of com- 
peting for the society's premium another year on the 
oat crop, as the straw hed invention may possibly be 
overdone, as most original ideas that are made to pay, 
soon are, from coming in contact with a ruinous com- 
petition that most inventive geniuses have to meet ; 
therefore, he will please excuse this intimation: that 
the straw, after being well threshed, might be arranged 
into hen^s nests, and a smart pedler would soon dispose 
of enough to establish the price, even though the "hen 
fever " did not rage to much extent, at possibly some 
$40 or $50 per ton, as most people are not very partic- 
ular about what they pay, when purchasing an article 
in homoeopathic doses, thus putting an end to all con- 
troversy in regard to the profits of agriculture. 

If the Board had desired the farmers benefit, would 
they have recommended some four years ago for them 
to keep their heifer calves, when stock was at the prices 
then obtained, hardly a day-wages business. Or did 
they all, like Mr. Fay, think that the crops might be 
increased five-fold and not decrease the value. Either 
their honesty or their simplicity Is here at fault ! 
Either or both positions prove that however valuable 
they may be to the speculators and loafers, they are of 
no benefit to the farmer. 



94 FARMING AS IT IS. 

THE STATE FAIR. 

At the meeting called at tlie State House to form a 
new State Society, to which I have referred at the 
commencement of this chapter, in order to stave off 
the object of those who called it, the Board of Agri- 
culture voted to hold an exhibition in conjunction with 
the Massachusetts Society. The Massachusetts So- 
ciety have some three hundred members, is in an 
annual receipt of $600 from the State, besides gifts 
and bequests from other sources, and have a fund of 
some $34,000, mostly in banks. You have seen what 
one of its members says in regard to how it spends its 
income, &c. 

In due time, the Board issued what may be termed 
a manifesto to the public, containing a declaration of 
their intentions. The following is taken from its pages. 

"First State Exhibition by the Massachu- 
setts Board of Agriculture, with the patronage 
of the Massachusetts Society for the Promo- 
tion OF Agriculture, to be held in Boston, Octo- 
ber, 1857." 

Eight thousand dollars was offered in premiums, and 
some one or two thousand in discretionary premiums. 

The list of officers was as follows, all taken from the 
Board : — 

President — Marshall P. Wilder. 
Secretanj — Chas. L. Flint. 
Treasurer — William G. Lewis. 

Committee of Arrangements. 

Marshall P. Wilder, Samuel Chandler, 

John Brooks, George Marston, 

William G. Lewis, Moses Newell, 

Thomas J. Field. 



BOARD OF AGRICUTURE. 95 

"Premiums," (our) [their] manifesto says, "will 
be paid in silver plate or money ^ at the option of suc- 
cessful competitors." 

Mr. Flint says, in his report, page 15, 1858 : — 

" The trustees of the Massachusetts Society for the 
Promotion of Agriculture, with their characteristic lib- 
erality, very generously volunteered to contribute two 
thousand dollars towards defraying the expenses of the 
Fair. In addition to this, a guarantee fund ^i fifteen 
thousand dollars was immediately raised, with the un- 
derstanding that the Fair should be held in Boston." 

Our Secretary further says, on the page above re- 
ferred to : — 

" These preliminaries arranged, no pains were spared 
to make the preparations for the Fair as complete as 
possible. The schedule of premiums was extensively 
distributed, and ample and liberal encouragement of- 
fered for all classes of farm stock, farm products, farm 
implements, domestic manufactures, and the mechanic 
arts." 

The " schedule of premiums " covered about twenty 
pages of their manifesto, and embraced about every- 
thing that can be thought of in connection with fancy 
farming. The premiums had a wide range of from 
five to fifty dollars, although some small articles run as 
low as two dollars. 

In this same report the Secretary further says — 

" Exhibitors appeared in great numbers, and with 
spirited emulation, and the judges being nearly all 
present, proceeded promptly with their examinations." 

Thus it would seem, according to our Secretary's 



96 FAEMING AS IT IS. 

account, that nearly all things were favorable for a 
successful operation. 

There were two things, however, which operated 
against them. One was, it was hard times in the busi- 
ness world, and the lateness of the season, (Oct. 20th, 
21st, 22d, and 2od,) was another reason why a failure 
was the result. This is the reasoning of the Board, 
according to their published account. 

To make a short story of it, the " fifteen thousand 
dollars " came up missing. When the facts came out, 
that the farmers went there with their cattle, &c., after 
the forty and fifty dollar premiums, and not to spend 
money, but chose rather to sleep in the stalls with their 
stock, as they had no money to spend at the hotels 
and grog shops of the city, finding that they Avere 
badly sold, and the best they could do, the larger pre- 
miums would hardly make them whole, even at the 
most prudent rates, yet judge of their surprise, when 
after a long delay, it was announced that not even the 
money they paid, as an entrance fee, could be returned, 
but must be paid off in twenty-five cent pictures, at the 
rate of five and ten dollars apiece. The farmers think 
this was paying rather dearly for the- autographs of 
H, J. Gardner and C. L. Flint. At any rate, it is not 
what they bargained for. Although, if it sets them to 
thinking, as perhaps it will, it may prove the best in- 
vestment they could possibly make. 

It seems that when these cunning fellows, the Bos- 
ton speculators, got into a " sled," they thought to 
make a " cat's paw " of the Board, and some of them 



BOARD OF AGRICUTURE. bi 

being on the Board as members, thereby coiitrollng the 
country members, and they even hoping to make a 
good thing of it, readily subscribed, as Mr. Flint says, 
to a guarantee fund of fifteen thousand dollars to have 
it in their city. But when the time came and went, 
and brought them little in the way of " cash,," they 
concluded to " knock under," withhold the subscrip- 
tions, for as the farmers had brought them no cash, 
and in their anticipations had failed, therefore they left 
the Board to reconcile the matter to suit themselves. 
The ten thousand dollars that was offered by the Board 
to be distributed in premiums, dwindled down to some 
four thousand, paying about forty per cent, on their 
declaration, after taking nearly one thousand dollars as 
entrance fees, and the total receipts amounting to the 
snug little sum of $11,671.82, making the expenses 
$7,485.32. How a part of this was expended, will be 
seen by the following, taken from the fourth page of 
the manifesto before alluded to : — 

" The Judges, Marshals, Superintendents, and In- 
vited Guests, will dine with the officers of the Society, 
daily, at 1 o'clock." 

Straws sometimes tell which way the wind blows. 

It seems by the above that $4,086.50 was actually 
paid in premiums, or perhaps it would be nearer the 
truth to say "awarded," as a part of it never has been 
paid, only as the Jockey paid for his hundred dollar 
nag, in puppies at twenty-five dollars each. Then it 
will be seen by the report, that a large amount that 
actually was paid, went to the owners oi fast horses^ 
9 



98' FARMING AS IT IS. 

&c. And the whole show was more of a racc-ooiirse, 
where the fast " nags " were brought out by still 
" faster " men. Such is the Board of Agriculture, 
and for this the people must be taxed, that the fancy 
may dine at one, and pay off in autographs at ten dol- 
lars a pair. 

I know that the Board claim that they have no funds 
of their own, and I am thinking that they are not 
alone in this particular, and if these things continue, 
they will be growing less so every day ; but the Mas- 
sachusetts Society have a fund, as v/e have seen, of 
$34,000, and some of the members of the Board are 
not closely pinched for means ; therefore, looking at 
the subject in any light you may, the conclusion is 
inevitable, that they are not the men to hold to such 
an extent the interests of the people. 

But we are told that this fall (1860) the thing is to 
be repeated. At a distant city from the metropolis, if 
a " sufficient guarantee fund " can be raised, the scenes 
of '47 are to be repeated, and to further this object, 
and make the thing sure, in gaining the confidence of 
the people, the State Treasury, to the tune of $3,000, 
is to be taxed. I submit it to the best judgment of 
all good citizens, if it would not be wise to submit at 
some State election the question to the people, if they 
desire these things ? If a few uneasy individuals, who 
know little about agriculture, and nothing about it as 
a means of living, are to trifle with the dearest rights 
of a people, that the sharpers of our cities may be ben- 
efitted at their expense, is it not time to pause ? 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 99 

I do not wish to be understood as saying that any- 
other number of men that could be selected, as a Board 
of Agriculture, could do any better than this Board 
have done, and meet the expectations of those who con- 
trol them. The idea with me is that the whole thing 
is wrong ; wrong in principle, wrong in policy, wrong 
in practice, and cannot be made useful to the people. 

For, if I understand them, their policy is to cheapen 
the price of farm products in the country. This is 
what those men who are instrumental in making appro- 
priations for their support, expect of them. They 
mainly have no sympathy with, nor care nothing for, 
the interests of the farmer. All that part of the sys- 
tem is the veriest humbug. They would have the far- 
mer live on browse, and work himself into an " Egyp- 
tian mummy," if that would make farm products cheap 
in the market. There is not one particle of soul in the 
matter, and if any of the " Board " believe there is, 
their simplicity is their best plea for the wrong they 
commit. 

If any one doubts one word that I say, let them 
spend a brief period among the sympathizers of the 
" Board " in Boston or any other city, and if they can- 
not see through the crust of the " crocodile tears " 
that are shed for the farmer, without a more practical 
illustration, let them take to market some of their pro- 
ducts, and tell those men the amount of labor it took 
to produce them, and see if a price can be obtained that 
will pay day wages, all things reckoned. Very likely 
you will be told that the market is over-stocked, and 
this is the fact. ,' , 



lOO FARMING AS IT IS. 

For this purpose they are anxious to be taxed, for 
this purpose they subscribe to the " guarantee funds," 
for this purpose a public sentiment is created, and the 
people's money is sacrificed. 

To show how little they know or care upon the sub- 
ject, allow me to spend a few moments by way of illus- 
tration. At one of the Legislative Ao-ricultural Meet- 
ings at the State House, Hon. Eichard S. Fay, of Lynn, 
presiding, he took occasion to say, in discussing the 
question of Agricultural education, that " the hay crop 
of Massachusetts which he estimated to be worth $20,- 
000,000 per annum," saying that we could produce 
" five times as much without decreasing the value of 
the article ! " 

This Mr. Fay is one of the most wealthy and influ- 
ential members of the Board of Agriculture. He esti- 
mates the hay crop of Massachusetts to be worth $20,- 
000,000. At the last census, when the crop was esti- 
mated, it was declared to be 648,610 tons, being less 
than a ton to the acre. At ten dollars per ton, the 
value would be $6,486,100, not one-third of the value, 
according to Mr. Fay. So much for Mr. Fay's figures. 
When it is recollected that one-third of the hay crop 
of this State is meadow hay, usually reckoned by far- 
mers to be worth five dollars per ton, it will be seen 
that the estimate on the whole crop at ten dollars per 
ton, is suflSciently high. At the same census the num- 
ber of cattle and horses in the State was 340,842, giv- 
ing nearly two tons of hay to each creature. 

Absurd as his statement is shown to be in this esti- 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 101 

mate, it is not a tenth part so absurd as his (Fay'.s) 
other statement, viz., that this crop could be muhiplied 
five times and not decrease the vahic of the article. 
The Avhole hay and grass crop of the country at the 
census of 1850, was estimated to be worth $300,000,000. 
Calling the grass crop one-third of the amount in value, 
then our cipherer, (Mr. Fay) thinks that Massachusetts 
could produce half of the whole amount, and still keep 
the price up. Increase the hay crop this year 20 per 
cent, over last year, and you decrease the market value 
in nearly as great a proportion. Hay now sells in Bos- 
ton market for from 22 to 24 dollars per ton. Last 
year it sold for from 17 to 20 dollars per ton. Why 
this variation in the price, Mr. Fay ? Because the crop 
last year (1859,) was the lightest crop we have had 
for several years. Double the hay crop this year (1860) 
from last year, and the market price would not give a 
man a dollar per day to harvest and team it 15 miles 
to market. This is what I believe, and further, it is 
what the facts in past years will demonstrate in regard ' 
to this and most other crops. What we farmers want 
to know is this. We want to know how to earn a dol- 
lar per day when we work on our own farms, after al- 
lowing a fiir per cent, on the investment, aside from 
the dwelling or house we occupy. All out-buildings, 
such as barns, sheds, &c., fcncc"^, drains, lands, &c., 
with stock, tools, and everything of that kind, arc our 
stock in trade, and if we have got to combine these 
with our labor, and the labor of our Avives and chil- 
dren, for an ordinary living, such as any mechanic in 
9* 



102 FARMING AS IT IS. 

our villages and cities would be ashamed of, liow is a 
poor man who has no capital going to live by his labor 
alone ? This, Mr. Fay, is the problem I am trying to 
solve. We farmers do not care to trouble ourselves 
about your affairs, neither do we care anything about 
your wild and vague speculations in regard to the hay 
crop or any other crop ; all that we ask is, that you 
stop professing to be our friends, and keej) your hands 
out of the people's treasury for the means to keep us 
}X)or. This is "vsdiere we stand. We ask to be let 
alone. I think all the farmers of Massachusetts to- 
day, who have to look to their labor mainly for a sup- 
port, will ask nothing more than this, — let us alone. 
Our croj)s are our labor and our cajiital, and when 
these sell for half the cost to produce them, it either 
makes work for the sheriff, or our children have to suf- 
fer. You have seen what has been said in regard to 
the law of supply and demand. This every man of 
the most common intelligence ought to understand. 
Fancy farming, and fancy farmers, without the State 
treasury to back them uj), would be perfectly harmless 
of ev'il. Continue this tampering for another fifty 
years, and labor in this country is on a level with the 
labor of the old countries. 

This gentleman to whom I have just referred is full 
of laudation to the institutions and the various pro- 
cesses which he has seen over the water. Chcaji or 
half-paid labor enables them there to do this, and I 
hope never to see such in this country. There arc other 
than four-legged cattle, both male and female, that have 



BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. 103 

peculiar charms for this class of travellers, and whose 
condition thej desire to see established here. Their 
motto is, take care of the rich, and let the rich take 
care of the poor. How infinitely more v.ite it wcnld 
be to leave each and every of cur iiu!u: trial institu- 
tions frec,^ relying on the great law uf s-upj.ly and de- 
mand to regulate, as it surely will, better tl.an any 
legislation can, all these interests where free thcufiht 
and free labor is left untrammeled and uncontrolcd. It 
is no disgrace to be born poor, — over this we have no 
control. Then how monstrous is the idea that inherited 
wealth should leave no stone unturned to make more 
glaring the line, and strengthen the wall, to crush the 
one and elevate the other. 

To illustrate the position. Suppose a shoemaker 
could realize, over the cost of the raw material, a suffi- 
cient sum to support his family, at a cost of one dollar 
per day, by making five pairs shoes each day. This 
was when he was young, full of health, life and vigor. 
He neither gains nor loses anything. This is all very 
well as long as these conditions exist. But when old 
age or other calamities comes upon him, then cast him 
off to the poor house, which is all ready to receive him. 
These, in brief, are the institutions of the countries on 
the other side of the water, carried to their finality. 

Then, again, suppose any shoemaker, by doing the 
same amount of work, could support his family, and 
lay by fifty cents per day. This would give him about 
12] cents per pair more^than by the other arrangement. 
The surplus, 12^ cents, is to pay for the extra cost of 
living. Because if the shoemaker is better paid, all 



104 TAKMIXG AS IT IS. 

other classes will be, if all labor is left free ; hence the 
extra cost. 

Now then, it is seen that we have but little use for 
poor-houses, as our mechanic can take care of himself 
in case of adversity. This is what we want. We 
want when young, to be so conditioned as to be inde- 
pendent of the money power, and at the same time be 
always prepared for a " rainy day," as the saying is. 
Allow me to say here that these figures and calcula- 
tions are ju?t as applicable to agriculture as to shoe- 
making. And the reason that I did not illustrate the 
idea by this was that agriculture has been so mystified 
and distorted, that but few understand it, or any pro- 
cess of reasoning in regard to it. In another place, I 
am in hopes to be able to so simplify it, as to make it 
intelligible, even to the Board of Agriculture. 

Who, noAv let me inquire, are to be the losers by the 
last calculation ? Suppose the same reasoning is applied 
to farming, viz : the farmer is getting his dollar per day 
for his labor, and six per cent, on his farm capital? What 
will be the effect of this, and who are to be the losers ? 
This is the question ; and the sooner all make up their 
minds to meet it, the better. It will be claimed that 
this will raise the price of provisions. Granted. Then 
it will cost the j)oor in our cities more to live. Cer- 
tainly. The rich, also, will have to share in the extra 
cost. That also is granted. EecoUect that it was not 
the price of the potatoes that the Irishman complained 
of in in his own country, but the difiiculty of gettino- 
the shiUing to buy them with. The most important 



BOARD or AGEICULTURE. 105 

object for us to consider now is, to stop the drain of 
young men from the country towns to the cities and 
market places. Therefore, as long as most of the con- 
veniences of life are cheaper in the cities than in the 
country, a strong inducement is held out to continue 
this evil. But to effect this, all these difficulties that 
we have been considering are to be overcome. The 
most important of which is the idea that has got into 
the minds of many men, to cheapen all in their power 
the products of the farm. The word cheap is a com- 
parative word. So is the word dear. Anything may 
with propriety be said to be cheap when it is below 
the cost of production. The cost of any article is the 
labor to produce it over the cost of the raw material. 
If we apply certain conditions to the soil to produce a 
plant, those conditions are the raw material, the cost 
of which is just as important for us to know, as it was 
for the shoe-maker to know the cost of the leather, 
&c., of which his shoes were made ; for without such 
knoAvledge he could not have known what his wages 
were. If it is argued that these conditions were in 
the soil and cost nothing, then let me say that that is 
the great fundamental error of agriculture. The word 
growth is but another word for manufacture^ and vice 
versa. A plant is as much a manufactured article as a 
shoe. Each is composed of certain component parts, 
the one as much as the other. And it is just as absurd 
to suppose that you can remove the plant from the soil 
without detriment and compensation, as it would be to! 
suppose that if you let the shoe go without being re- .. 



106 PAKMING AS IT IS. 

compensed, another would take its place, and you 
would be none the poorer. Therefore, if we take those 
plants from the soil and lug them to the cities, without 
sufficient compensation for our labor, expenses, and to 
supply the raw material to make more of, we are .sell- 
ing our labor and capital at such prices, the tendency 
of which is in the end to the poor-house. If the evil 
stopped with us, the system would not be so deplora- 
ble. But in doing this, we are saying to our neighbor 
and fellow-laborer, who perhaps desires to better his 
condition, You have got to compete with us, and un- 
less you have more capital or more bone and muscle, 
we both shall find the same end. Therefore, it seems 
to me that the farmer has no moral rig-ht to follow a 
losing business, and that this conclusion is inevitable, 
that because he has capital he can live even if he does 
work at a loss, while his poor neighbor, who has noth- 
ing, but his needs are equally as great and imperative, 
must suffer and die. 

I say here, then, that any man or body of men who 
have this object in view, to cheapen any article below 
the cost to produce it, reckoning fairly for the labor, 
<S;c., are enemies to labor and the best interests of our 
country. Suppose that by a close and systematic pro- 
cess of reasoning some articles are found to cost double 
or more than the price they have usually been sold for. 
What of that. All those who cannot afford them, or 
do not desire to do so, can do without them. This 
is what the farmers have always done. How many 
farmers ever drew the cork of a chamijagne bottle, in 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 107 

IMassachufcetts ? Yet these are as common in some 
localities as the cider mug is to the farmer. A pound 
of good, nice rump steak, costing a shilling, and never 
had ought to be sold for less than twenty-five cents, 
has a hundred times more nutriment at per cent, cost 
and value. 

There are more than forty bushels of grain raised in 
the United States to each person every year. This is 
more than double what they need. Beef, pork, and 
many kinds of vegetables are produced in excess of 
the demand. My position is that the supply has been 
forced beyond the demand to such an extent that the 
labor to produce them yields no return, or the capital 
no per ce.nt. Hence the constant depreciation in the 
value of farms, and the increase of pauperism in our 
country towns. The system or policy that the Board 
of Agriculture seek to fasten upon the people, has the 
tendency to populate the cities and large towns at the 
expense of the rural districts. What the producers 
want is to get the largest possible amount of money 
for the smallest possible amount of products. If we 
can manage to make a profit in our businese, our farms 
will rise in value as the general prosperity of the 
country advances, our aged fathers and mothers and 
the unfortunates generally will have something to pro- 
vide for their necessities, we shall be in a condition to 
consume more of those articles that we do not produce, 
thereby giving a larger amount of employment lo our 
brothers in other professions and trades ; our poor rates 
will be less, and we shall take the position in society 



108 TARMING AS IT IS. 

that all good men everywhere should desire and try to 
hasten. Now it is plainly evident that the Board and 
I are at issue with each other. They say that our in- 
terests are only advanced by " increasing the crops." 
I say that the reverse is true. Mr. Fay says, "In- 
crease the hay crop five times and the market price 
keeps up." If this is true in regard to the hay crop, 
it is also true in regard of all other crops. Within the 
last five years the cattle crop of the country has been 
increased by one quarter, and the coming census, I 
think, will show it, unless some fatality takes them off. 
How is it in regard to the price ? I attended an auc- 
tion sale last fall (1859) of a fancy farmer, and saw 
blood cows sold under favorable circumstances for the 
seller, that he said cost two years before one 'hundred 
dollars a head, for one-fourth of that sum. Native 
cows sold at the same time for about twenty dollars 
apiece, that he paid about three times that amount for. 
In the fall of 1856 and 1857, two year old heifers were 
sold in Cambridge and Brighton market for from $30 
to $40 apiece. Last fall (1859) they were sold for 
from $15 to $20. In the spring of 1857, I sold fair 
cows for about $00 apiece. I will sell as good cows 
now for $30. 

Mr. Fay and the Board of Agriculture knoAv that 
this position is true. Increase the crops of the coun- 
try five-fold and you make 50,000 paupers. The 
country j)eople to-day are groaning under the oppres- 
sion caused by the excess of cattle over the demand. 
They are literally eating the farmers up. I know that 
it makes beef cheap in the cities, and who does not 



EOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 109 

know that the laborers are cut short of the means to 
buy even at these rates, to a greater extent than usutil? 

I can sec very well how it Is that Avealthy and short- 
sighted men, having large investments in city property, 
can persuade themselves to believe it to be to their ad- 
vantage to keep down the laborers by inducing them 
to produce an excess of" products, thereby rendering 
their labor nearly valueless. But how it is that legis- 
lators, whose duty it is to look to the interests of the 
whole jieople, should be induced to vote appropriations 
to effect this purpose, is a little beyond my under- 
standing. I know it is seldom that a working man is 
elected to the legislature, but is there no virtue in 
men ? has humanity and honesty all been crushed out ? 
All fancy farmers farm at a loss. They will tell you 
this in private conversation. Farming to them is a 
mere pastime — a pleasure — a gratification — same 
as the bloods in our cities delight in keeping fast 
horses. They like to out-trot their neighbors. It 
draws hard on the pocket, but then they think it a 
harmless way to spend their money, and nobody cares 
anything about it. They do not ask others to engage 
in it, neither do they go to the legislature for means to 
indulge. Now if these men (the fancy) can show 
that they can live on the resources of their own farms, 
without spending what would be to a poor man a for- 
tune, every year, then they might talk with some 
degree of honesty. 

If I were asked the cause of the distress at the pres- 
ent time in the great West, I should ansAver the inter- 
rogatory by saying that they have for a long time sold 



110 FARMING AS IT IS. 

their farm products at much less than remunerating 
prices. Thev have not reckoned the cost, coni^equently 
they are left without the means to return to the eoil 
the plant food of which it has been robbed. Their 
labor is lost, the soil is impoverished, and they have no 
money in the pocket. Consequently they are embar- 
rassed, distressed, and are getting discouraged. Their 
Eastern friends are suffering in consequence of their 
inability to pay, and being obliged to compete in the 
market with them. If I were again asked the reason 
for this state of things, I should answer by referring 
you to the 912 Agricultural Societies in the States, 
embracing every State in the Union but one (Florida.) 
When it is known that farm products have been sold 
all over the country for a price insufficient to return to 
the soil the raw material of which they were made, 
(as I intend to prove in another place,) some clue to 
the cause of this state of things will be furnished. 

If again I were asked who had been benefited by 
those facts, I should emphatically answer, none. The 
idlers and loafers in our cities undoubtedly have by 
this been enabled to hold their position, as they could 
not afford to work when the conveniences of life could 
be obtained at so low a rate. Although the currency 
of the countxy has nearly doubled within a few years, 
and most all salaried or government men have kept 
pace with it, yet labor has been growing cheaper. 
Foreign influences arc at work in the country, and 
unless the laborers pause awhile and estabhsh a land- 
mark, it will be aU day with them. 



CHAPTEE Y. 

BOAED OF AGRICULTURE, CONTINUED. 

Secretary Flint — The Law — Wheat Raising Paying 200 Per Cent — 
Analysis of AVheat — Analysis of Manure — The Amount of JIanure 
it Takes to Make a Bushel of Wheat — Two Acres of Rye — Oats — 
Corn — Commerce and Manufactures — Earnings of Wisconsin and 
Massachusetts — Combination of Capital and Labor — The Raw Ma- 
terial of which Crops are Made — Average Eaiuiings of Farmers and 
Mechanics in Wisconsin — Mechanics and F irmers Earnings — A 
Supposition — Butter and Flour — Mr. Minus — Mrs. Minus — John 
and Jim — Catching a Weasel — High Prices — Peace and Prosperity. 

In his preface, page 3d, Secretary's Report, 1855, 
Mr. Flint says, " The plan adapted at the outset was 
to exclude from this volume all matter which was not of 
some general interest or value. This was evidently 
the contemplation of the law which required the annu- 
al publication of an ahstract of the returns." 

This is what the Secretary says at the commence- 
ment of the report. He thinks this was the meaning 
of the law. And he should exclude every thing 
" which was not of some general interest or value." 
Let us see. 

On page 2G4 Secretary's Report, 1857, there is a 
statement of a man who made more than 200 per cent, 
on raising wheat. No wonder farmers get rich. Here 
is the statement. 

" The land on which my wheat was raised is a clayey 
111 



FARMING AS IT IS. 

loam ; it was in potatoes last year, yielding 308 bush- 
els of the large ' Woods,' potatoes, so called, without 
any manure except a small handful of plaster in the 
hill. This spring I put on twenty loads of compost, 
made by stabling my cows nights, last fall ; ploughed 
the land twice, ploughing in the manure the last time ; 
sowed two bushels of red flint wheat that had been 
soaked in a preparation of air slacked lime and salt, 
for twenty-four hours. It was sown April 25th, and 
harvested August 11th and 12th." 

Expenses of Crop. 

Ploughing 2,00 

Harrowing 1.00 

Sowing seed and rolling , 1.00 

Half of manure to crop 10.00 

Seed 6.00 

Threshing 3.62 

Interest on Land at $50 per acre. 3.00 

$26.62 
Value of Crop. 

29 bushels of Wheat, at $2.50 72.50 

Straw estimated at 8.00 

$80.50 
Deduct expenses 26.62 

Balance in favor of crop $53.88 

Sept. 15, 1856. Cost per bushel, 91-|-|- cents. 

I do not intend to make any extended comments on 
the above statement. I introduce it here so that the 
reader may see for himself and judge for himself, if 
such statements are reliable, how they are to be recon- 
ciled with what has alx'eady been said in the preceding 
pages. 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 113 

I now propose, after an explanation of the philosophy 
of fertilizers, as I understand them, and the composition 
of the grain of wheat, to estimate the cost of this acre 
of grain. 

Wheat contains about 15 per cent, of water, varying 
a little as it has had an opportunity to dry, and 85 per 
cent, of soUd matter. 

(Dried at the temperature of 230° F.) that is, the 
water dried out of it, it contains : 

Carbon 46.1 per cent. 

Hydrogen 5.8 

Oxygen 43.4 

Nitrogen 2.3 

Ashes 2.4 

100 

Now, as I understand it, these substances are the 
raw material out of which the wheat is manufactured. 
This being so, the intelligent reader will see at once the 
absurdity of estimating the cost of a crop by the 
amount of manure or plant-food applied to the soil. 
This has nothing to do with the cost. For a given 
quantity of grain or any other crop is always composed 
of nearly the same constituent parts, and whether we 
apply the fertilizer to the soil, or make the crop of the 
nitrogen, &c., that is already in the soil, the cost is the 
same. Therefore, it will be seen that all bushel meas- 
ure products should be reckoned by the bushel without 
any regard to the amount applied as a fertilizer. For 
if we apply much and take little, then more remains 
for succeeding crops ; but if we apply little and take 



114 TAEMING AS IT IS. 

mucli, the reverse is the case. Now all who under- 
stand this reasoning, will see the propriety of my re- 
marks in the last chapter, in regard to the diflSculties 
of the Western people. 

This leads us to the inquiry of the cost of sufficient 
fertilizing material to make a bushel of grain. When 
this is ascertained, the cost of the crop is perfectly 
simple, and no one need to seriously err in the, matter. 

About one-seventh part of fresh excrements of a cow 
in milk, is solid matter, the balance water. If the water 
is dried out of it, it wiU then be composed of 

Carbon 42,8 

Hydrogen 5.2 

Oxygen 37.7 

Nitrogen 2.3 

Ashes 12.0 

Now if these figures are rehable, and the reasoning 
is correct, the mystery is solved, the road is plain, and 
we are already to figure up the cost of our crop. Be- 
fore doing this, however, I want to say, what all suc- 
cessful business men know, that a margin must always 
be left for contingencies, somewhat proportionate to the 
hazardness of the business. The more risky the busi- 
ness, the larger the margin. The merchant whose ships 
plough the mighty deep, makes a larger margin for 
contingencies than the home dealer. Then if his ships 
come home safe, and are well laden, he finds on making 
out the balance sheet that his anticipations have been 
more than reaHzed, and he sleeps all the sounder for it. 
But, if the stomas and winds have blown adversely, he 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 115 

hunts up his policies of insurance, looks over the books, 
drops his eye upon the margin, and congratulates him- 
self that whoever may have been deceived, it is not 
No. 1. 

The next thing to consider is this : what will it cost 
to make seven bushels of the fresh excrements of a 
cow ? Late years I have based all my calculations 
upon this principle, that the manure of all animals 
of this class, after they are one year old, will pay 
for the labor to take care of them. Dr. Dana tells 
us that a well-fed cow will void one bushel of solid 
matter per day. I think that most observing farmers 
will agree with me in saying that this is a little too 
high. And as there is always some loss attending these 
operations, and as the farmers are just beginning to do 
their own figuring, and desire to keep an eye on the 
balance sheet, and not be deceived in the final estimate, 
suppose we say that all that can be saved of this ma- 
terial is equal to one bushel of both solid and liquid 
manure per day. Then the question comes up, how 
many cows can a man take care of to the best advan- 
tage ? If this number is fixed at twenty, and a man's 
wages at one dollar and twenty-five cents per day, it 
would give us Q{ cents for each bushel, or 6^ times 
7 = 43f cents as the cost of the raw material that is 
necessary to apply to the soil to produce a bushel of 
wheat. 

If I am told that the plant receives a part of its nu- 
triment from the gasses that float in the atmosphere, I 
should reply, whence comes these gasses. Are they 



116 FARMING AS IT IS. 

not composed and made up of the ammonia that escapes 
from the soil and the manure ? That the philosophy 
of this mode of reasoning is correct, it seems to me 
there is no doubt. The figures can be made to vary 
according to circumstances. They seem to me to be 
nearly correct At any rate, all farmers want some 
data to establish a principle with some degree of una- 
nimity, and practice up to that, for if this looseness 
continues, it will not take much of a philosopher to see 
the end. 

Dr. The Cost of a Bushel of Wheat. 

One acre of land , 

To interest 3.00 

" one man, one yoke oxen and plough, two days 4.50 

" " boy, horse and harrow ^ day 1.25 

" sowing seed and rolling. 1.00 

" seed 6.00 

" preparing seed ... .25 

" fencing 1.00 

" harvesting 3.00 

" threshing and winnowing • 4.00 

" barn rent l.f () 

" fertilizer, at 43| cents per bushel of grain 12. G9 

$37.69 
Cost per bushel, $1.29|f cents. 

If this man got his 29 bushels of wheat, the above 
figures approximate pretty nearly to the cost. I have 
said nothing about the straw neither way. But desire 
to have it understood that this cannot be made of noth- 
ing any more than the grain. I have Introduced the 
above figures more to establish a correct way of calcu- 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 117 

lating the cost of crops, than for any other purpose. A 
crop of 29 bushels of wheat to the acre is possible, but 
it is more than 2h times above the average in this State 
or in the country. 

RYE. 

On page 186 in Mr. Flint's report, (1854,) is a state- 
ment of Mr. , on a crop of this kind of grain. 

" The land on which this crop was raised contains 
two acres. In 1853, it was planted with corn, and 
manured at the rate of twenty loads to the acre, spread 
on and harrowed in. After my corn was harvested, I 
sowed my rye, at the rate of one bushel to the acre. I 
harvested in July. The land was ploughed deep, and 
thoroughly harrowed. 

Value of Crop. 

50 bushels, at $1.25 62.50 - 

Straw, by estimate 15.48 

$77.98 

Expenses. 

Seed 2.25 

Ploughing, harrowing, and sowing 3.50 

Harvesting and threshing 8.00 

Interest on land 12.00 

$25.75 

Net profit $52.23 

It seems that this grain cost 51|- cents per bushel, 
affording a net profit of more that 200 per cent. 

If I were to reckon the cost of this crop, I should 
make the figures in this way : 

Dr. Two Acres of Bye. 

To interest 12.00 

" one man, yoke oxen and plough, two days. . . 4.50 



118 FARMING AS IT IS. 

To one man, horse and harrow, one clay 2.25 

«« seed 2.25 

" sowing seed 50 

" cradhng 1.75 

" taking up and stooking 1.25 

" carting to barn, &c .75 

" fencing 1.00 

" threshing and winnowing 6.00 

" barn rent . 1.00 

" fertilizer, at 40 cents per bushel grain 20.00 



$53.25 



The average quantity of rye in this State is about 10 
bushels to the acre of grain, and perhaps i ton of straw, 
worth from six to ten dollars per ton, depending on lo- 
cality. 

OATS. 

On page 93 of Mr. Secretary Flint's Report for 
1855, a statement by Mr. , will be found in re- 
gard to this crop. 

" I offer for premium a crop of oats, raised upon a 
piece of rather ordinary land, which was broken up in 
the faU of 1852, sown with oats in the spring of '53 ; 
the crop was fair for sward ground. It was ploughed 
in August following, the stubble well covered, and 
manured in the spring of '54 with thirty cart loads, 
of about fifty-five bushels each, of compost manure, 
twenty of which were ploughed in, the remainder put 
in hills and planted to corn. The crop, in consequence 
of drougth, was rather a light one. This spring it 
was well ploughed, the last of April, and sown the 
first day of Ma}' with four bushels of oats, well har- 
rowed, seeded to grass and rolled. The oats were cut 
with a cradle the 4th of August, threshed and win- 
nowed the 10th, and found to measure seventy-eight 
bushels, two of which were weighed, and found to 
weigh thirty-two pounds each. 



BOARD OF AGRICULTUEE. 119 

Value of crop at 66 cents per bushel, 45 of which I sold for 

that price, in A.ugust last $51 68 

Thirty hundred of straw, at least 10 00 

Total $6168 

The cost of raising said crop was as follows : — 

To one day's work of myself and yoke of oxen $3 00 

Cost of seed, at 80 cents per bushel 3 20 

To one day's work of myself, man and one yoke of oxen, 

sowing, harrowing, and roUing . 3 GO 

To cradling, binding, getting in 3 00 

To threshing, cleaning, etc 3 00 

$15 20 
Profit of crop $46 48 

Thus it seems, according to our friend's figures, his 
oats cost him 6|| cents per bushel, taking out the 
straw according to his estimate ; and as he can sell 
them, and did sell part of them at the price named, 
making a comfortable little pro/?^ of about one thousand 
per cent. If he did not get the premium, it was not 
because he did not deserve it, for if they have got any 
smarter men down there in old Essex, I pity the honest 
ones. 

I believe I shall not make any figures in this place 
on the cost of this crop, as the reader must understand 
pretty well how they would stand, and I do not wish 
to weary him. I would say, however, that oats con- 
tain about 20 per cent, of water, rye 16, wheat 15. 

The analysis of this grain, according to Boussing- 
ault, is : 

Carbon 50.7 

Hydrogen 6.4 

Oxygen .36.7 

Nitrogen 2.2 

Ashes 4.0 



120 FAR3IING AS IT IS. 

A bushel of oats weighs 32 pounds, and it takes 
about 25 cents' worth of fertihzing matter, according 
to this theory, to make them. 

CORN. 

On page 176, Eeport of 1854, will be found the fol- 
lowing statement : 

*' Having entered my name as a competitor for the 
premium offered by you for the best field of Indian 
corn of not less than three acres, I now proceed to 
give an account of my management and expenses. 
The field upon which the corn grew contains about 
three and one-fourth acres of land ; it was ploughed 
from green sward in the fall of 1853, it then having 
been in grass about five years, without any manure 
after it was laid down. The soil is a sandy loam. I 
commenced drawing manure about the first of May, 
and drew on thirty-nine cart loads, of thirty-five bush- 
els each, which I put in the hill. I then furrowed it 
three feet six inches apart, and on the 10th, planted 
it with flesh-colored and yellow com, putting five ker- 
nels in the hill ; it was cultivated and weeded out 
about the 20th of June, and then cultivated twice 
after. 

Expenses. 

Manure, thirty-nine cart loads $40 00 

Drawing the same 7 00 

Ploughing, $2 per acre 6 50 

One and one -fourth bushels 1 50 

Planting 10 00 

Hoeing and cultivating for the season 10 00 

$75 00 
Deduct half of the expense of manure for future crops. . . 20 00 

Profit $55 00 

How this man arrives at the conclusion that he has 
made a profit of $55, is the greatest puzzle I have 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 121 

come to yet. He does not say that lie got any corn at 
all, not so much as a pig ear, yet he is very sure that 
he has made a profit, as above stated. And I presume 
he got the premium. Any man that can cultivate and 
produce 3^ acres of corn " for the season," for the sum 
of $23.50, a little more than $1 per acre, ought to 
have a premium, (over the left) if he did not get so 
much as a husk. 

Mr. Flint says that he did not intend to use the peo- 
ple's money to crowd upon the community a worthless 
article, and he thinks the law so construes it ; yet we 
find the people taxed to the tune of more than $0,500 
to forestall public opinion, by issuing such documents 
in profusion among the people, the contents of which 
would make even " Sinbad the sailor " blush in his 
palmiest days. I know Mr. Flint does not say these 
things himself, but he publishes many thousand copies, 
and sends them all over the State, and perhaps the 
country, circulating them among all classes of people, 
year after year, thereby mducing people to engage in 
a business which is not sufficiently remunerative to 
afford to pay boys of various ages from 12 to 21 years, 
" anything like five cents per day," when they board 
and clothe themselves. Now I want in candor to ask 
T.Ir. Flint how this is, admitting that those boys were 
Lad, and knew but little about the business, when he 
h:A help enough to control them, plenty of land to 
work upon, and a variety of soil, crops and labor to 
engage in, with a ready market at the door for all that 
was or could be produced, and yet they could earn 
11 



122 FARMING AS IT IS. 

nothing, or so near it that a five cent piece would hare 
to be divided to settle with them ? If these l)oys 
could earn nothing, I do not see how other fi)lks' boys, 
who are less favorably circumstanced, can do so well 
as the above figures indicate. I have no doubt, my- 
self, that what Mr. Flint said about tlie boys was 
nearly correct, and refer to it in this connection merely 
that the reader may see at a single glance the gross 
exaQ-cjeration of the fig^ures which are here instituted 
in regard to the estimates on the various crops. 

I know of my own knowledge, that I have seldom 
been able to earn anything, on either the grain, the 
cattle, or the root crops, and for the reason that there 
is most always a surplus in the market, suflScIently 
large that the competition keeps them doAvn, nearly to 
the per cent, on the capital and the cost of the raw ma- 
tei'ial of wdiich they are made. Farming is full of 
pleasures to those who have money to spend ; so Is 
horse-racing, and many other amusements, such as 
theatres, dancing, and the like ; but the question which 
ought to interest us is, how are the poor going to live 
by it? 

A large majority of the business of Massachusetts 
pays an annual dividend of less than fifteen per cent. ; 
some, perhaps more than that, but comparatively but 
little of this. Yet we find that thousands of men, 
with millions of capital, are ready to embark in it at 
these rates, while farming, according to these reports, 
often pays a dividend of several hundred per cent., 
and yet the business needs to be propped up at an 
expense of more than a hundred thousand dollars every 



BOARD OF AGRICUTURE. 123 

year in this State alone, to keep It from languishing 
and dying. If farming is more pi'ofitable than other 
kinds of business, then the farming: States would earn 
more than the commercial and manufacturing ; would 
they not ? This must be conclusive. Then Vermont 
would earn more than Massachusetts, Wisconsin more 
than Vermont. Certainly. According to the last 
census reports, the latter State (Wisconsin) earned 
forty-six dollars to each person, Vermont seventy, and 
Massachusetts seventy-two. Now It is well known 
that Massachusetts has a much larger relative popula- 
tion who earn nothing than either of the other States. 
Therefore, If the earnings could be divided among the 
workers as it should be In a comparison of this kind, 
(but we have no data for this) undoubtedly Massachu- 
setts would exceed Wisconsin three-fold, and Vermont 
very considerably more than these figures make It. 

According to the last census, the following table will 
give a condensed view of the population and earnings 
of the States to which I have referred : 

WISCONSIN. 

Population, 305,391. Products and value of industry: 

4,286,131 bushels wheat, at $1 00 $4,286,131 

3,414,672 " oats, at 30 cents 1,034,401 

1,988,979 " corn, at 50 cents 994,489 

1,402,956 " potatoes, at 25 cents 350,739 

278,662 tons hay, at $6 00 1,659,972 

3,633,750 pounds butter, at 15 cents 545,061 

400,283 " cheese, at 7 cents 28,019 

253,963 " wool, at 40 cents 101,585 

Slaughtered animals valued at 920,178 



l24 FARMING AS IT IS. 

Garden and orchard products 36,965 

Other agricultural products not specified 357,076 

$10,314,616 
Home manufactures 43,624 

Products of manufactures, the arts, &c., exclusive of 

the raw material 3,878,137 

Total products $14,236,377 

VERMONT. 

Population, 314,120. Products and value of industry: 

535,955 bushels wheat, at $1 50 $803,932 

2,307,734 " oats, at 40 cents 923,093 

2,032,396 " corn, at $1 00 2,032,396 

4,951,014 " potatoes, at 40 cents 1,980,405 

866,153 tons hay, at $10 00 8,661,530 

12,137,980 pounds butter, at 20 cents 2,437,596 

8,720,834 " cheese, at 8 cents 697,666 

6,349,357 " maple sugar, at 10 cents 634,935 

3,400,717 " wool, at 40 cents 1,360,286 

104,649 bushels peas and beans, at $1 50 156,973 

Slaughtered animals valued at 1,861,336 

Garden and orchard products : 34,108 

Other agricultural products not specified 457,567 

$22,341,823 

Home manufactures 267,710 

Products of manufactures, the arts, &c., exclusive of 

the raw material 3,569,543 

Total product $26,179,076 

MASSACHUSETTS. 

Population, 994,514. Products and value of industry: 

3,585,384 bushels potatoes, at 50 cents $1,792,692 

481,021 " rye, at $100 481,021 

1,165,146 " oats, at 50 cents 582,573 



BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. 125 

2,345,490 bushels corn, at $1 00 2,345,400 

112,385 " barley, at 70 cents 78.609 

43,709 " peas and beans, at $1 50 65,503 

665,807 tons hay, at 10 00 6,518,070 

8,071,370 pounds butter, at 20 cents 1,614,274 

7,088,142 " cheese, at 9 cents 637,932 

795,525 " maple sugar, at 10 cents 79,552 

138,246 " tobacco, at 12^ cents 16,589 

585,136 " wool, at 40 cents 234,054 

Slaughtered animals valued at 2,500,924 

Garden and orchard products 1,064,015 

Other agricultural products not specified 153,953 

$18,165,371 

Home manufactures 205,333 

Products of manufactures, the arts, &c., exclusive of 

the raw material 65,280,374 

Total products $83,651,078 

I think that by a careful examination of these fig- 
ures, we shall be able to get at a more comprehensive 
view of the great and fundamental errors existing in 
regard to agriculture, than what has heretofore been 
made to appear. 

My object is to show, taking the figures of the last 
census as above, that while trade and manufactures 
pays a living profit over a reasonable per cent, on the 
capital invested, agriculture yields scarce a living profit, 
when these (capital and labor) are combined, proving 
conclusively that no man can live by agriculture alone, 
only at the gi-eat sacrifice of the reasonable conve- 
niences of life. Therefore, nearly all farmers must take 
one of these positions : either yield all per cent, on his 



126 FARMING AS IT IS. 

capital, bring in to his aid the hibor and capital of 
others, or fail. These arc the reasons. All trades but 
the farmers, in estimating the cost of their products, in 
the first place estimate the cost of the raw material, 
and over this, either by their own labor, or the profits 
of the labor of others, live, or accumulate. Whereas, 
the farmers in their estimates, reckon nothing for the 
raw material, only expecting pay for the labor per- 
formed, till their farms become exhausted, and then 
labor and the raw material which they are obhged to 
supply comes in direct competition with the labor alone 
of all who act upon the principle of cropping the soil, 
without returning to it the elements of plant life, and 
to their horror, in a few short years find that their soil 
refuses to yield but a scanty return, and they are with- 
out the means of supplying them. 

All those who have studied these statistics carefully 
will see that all their estimates are based upon these 
principles. The labor alone of one class is reckoned 
over the cost of the base of that labor, while it is pre- 
sumed that the base of all agricultural products is sup- 
plied by some magic power, a miracle having been 
wrought, and something is made of nothing. Infinite 
Wisdom has nowhere taught this. By means all 
His purposes are effected. A miracle is no more per- 
formed in the production of a grain croj), than in a 
shoe crop. If by the manufacture of one, a man can 
subsist, why not by the other ? If by estimating tlie 
cost of a pair of shoes, a part is made to go to the 
cost of the raw material, equally so should it be with 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 127 

a bushel of grain, or anything that comes out of the 
ground. 

In these calculations, I think I can afford to be gen- 
erous, and then leave a large margin, which my friends 
on the other side will find some diffipulty in supplying. 

WISCONSIN. 

Total agricultural products, 1850, $10,814,G1G. To- 
tal manufacturing, mining, and the mechanic arts, ex- 
clusive of raw material, $3,921,761. If we double this 
sum, we should then have a total value of all the man- 
ufacturing, mining, and the mechanic arts in the State, 
supposing the value of the raw material to be equal 
to the labor applied, making |7,843,522. Now the 
two estimates stand equal, making a grand total of 
$18,158,138, as the whole value of her industry, raw 
material included. But the intelligent reader will see 
that this is giving about double what it ought to as 
the earnings of a single year. For this raw material 
in each of the estimates is capital, or past earnings, 
and ouffht to be so divided in all census returns, in 
order to form a correct estimate of the yearly industry 
of the State. I have placed it in this form in order 
that a true parallel may be drawn, as the census has 
the estimate in regard to manufactures, &c., correctly 
given, and not, as I think, in regard to agriculture, 
inasmuch as it has made no allowance for the raw ma- 
terial of which those articles are composed. If we 
allow thirty per cent, only on the agricultural estimates 
as propex'ly belonging to the farmers' capital, and not 



128 FARMING AS IT IS. 

to the earnings of the year, we should then h.ave 
$3,094,384 to return to the soil that which we have 
taken from it, out of which another crop can be made ; 
and by practicing upon this principle, we keep up the 
fertihty of the soil, and repi'esent truly this branch of 
the industry of the State. 

Now then, we come to a correct estimate of the 
yearly earnings of the agriculturists of the State, viz : 
$7,220,232. 

Now if we suppose that f of all the people of the 
State get their support mainly from the soil, and ^ 
from other pursuits, we can then easily arrive at the 
average earnings of each class. The population would 
then stand, agriculturists, 254,493 ; all others, 50,898, 
This would give to each person, other than agricultur- 
ists, $77.22, or to each family of six persons, $463.32, 
as a yearly support. 

Assuming these figures to be correct, the farmers 
would earn $28.37 to each person, or $170.22 to each 
family of six persons. Giving to the traders, manu- 
facturers, mechanics, &c., nearly three times as much 
as to the agriculturists. Proving conclusively, that in 
the West as in the East, the farmers get but a meagre 
support by their earnings. 

The valuation of all the property of the State in 
1850, was $42,056,595. If we suppose that $36,000,000 
of this sum to be property yielding revenue, and con- 
sequently ought to pay a per cent., and that $6,000,000 
is invested in manufactures, and $30,000,000 in farms 
and farm property, and we charge interest to each of 



BOARD OF AGEICULTURE. 129 

these interests, pro rata, it would give us as the average 
earnings of each class : farmers, $20.12, to each per- 
son, or ($120.72 to each family of six persons ; me- 
chanics, &c., $68.81, or $412.86 to each family of six 
persons. Interest reckoned at 7 per cert. 

MASSACHUSETTS. 

Continuing the same process in this State, we have 
total Agricultural products, $18,165,371. In regard 
to slaughtered animals, it must be borne in mind that 
a large per cent, of these are the products of other 
States, and ought not to be credited to this account. 
If we allow to other States and Provinces of this sum, 
$2,000,000, we should then have as the Agricultural 
products of this State, $16,165,371. Now if we allow 
thirty per cent, of this as capital, or past earnings, we 
should then have as the earnings of the year, exclusive 
of the raw material, $11,315,760. The statistics give 
us as a total value of all the farms and farm property 
in the State, the sum of $120,000,000, in round num- 
bers. This was in 1850. The last ten years has re- 
duced the sale value of this property at least $10,000,- 
000. If any one thinks differently in regard to this, I 
have no objection. I prefer to look at things as they 
are, and stand upon that. Statistics are the exponents 
of individual opinion, to a great degree, although they 
are valuable, and should be studied more than they 
are. 

Now we have as interest on this sum, $6,600,000, 
taken from the gross earnings, would leave $4,715,760, 



ISO FARMING AS IT IS. 

as the true earnings of the farmers of the State in one 
year for labor. In 1855, there were 57,031 farmers 
and gardeners in the State over 15 years old. This 
sum would give to each, $82.60, or 120.65 to each in- 
dividual, calling this 57,031 one-fourth part of aU the 
population depending on Agriculture for a support. 
Being 53 cents only, more than the average earnings to 
each person of this class in Wisconsin. 

MANUFACTURES. 

By the same census it seems that all the earnino-s of 
this class over and above the raw material used, was 
$35,485,707. Total capital invested, $83,357,642. 
Hands employed, 165,938. Deduct interest from cap- 
ital invested, it would leave $364.00 to each hand, or 
$91.00 to each member of the family, calling this 165,- 
938 mechanics one-fourth part of all who depend upon 
this kind of business for a supjiort. 

Thus it seems that poorly as the trades fare in this 
State, they earn more than four times as much as the 
ftirmers, and proving conclusively by figures and facts, 
which seem to me to be impregnable, that it is only by 
counting capital with labor in this branch of human 
industry, that we can subsist. Thereby driving- from 
the farm all who have little or no capital, into the ser- 
vice of those who have money to spend. Whatever 
view we take of the subject, either by plain figures or 
by comparative reasoning, the same results appear. I 
want here to fdlly impress it upon the minds of all 
farmers, if they cannot see in these two considerations 



BOAllD OF AGEICULTURE. 131 

which I have been examining, viz., the raw material 
and per cent, on the capital invested, a sufficient reason 
for the state of things that exists. 

I know the great difficulty of seeing what seems to 
be against our interests. We all have to buy of others 
more or less, those things Avhich we do not produce. 
Therefore there seems to be some reason to try to keep 
down the price, because we have our minds so fixed 
upon the cost of all articles of consumption which we 
do not produce, not thinking that if others sell cheap 
we must sell cheaper. If a man bought more than he 
sold, and had outside means, and only sought his im- 
mediate interest to the sacrifice of the future, then 
there would be some reason for this, but we should sell 
more than we buy, else we are growing poorer. I have 
made one or two attempts to illustrate this, but lest all 
may not have understood me, I will draw another par- 
allel. 

Suppose a farmer of the above class, whom we will 
name Mr. Minus, meets his wife, Mrs. Minus, at the 
breakfast table, and the following interesting conversa- 
tion ensues : 

3£rs. Minus — " George, we have been out of flour 
for nearly a week, and it is a good day to-day, and 
what say to going up to the village and get a barrel ? " 

Mr. Minus — " Hang the village, and all the tribe oi 
sharpers in it. I asked old Shrewd the other day, 
what he sold flour for, and don't you tliink, he U,h\ 
me ten dollars, and I warrant you it Avas none of the 
best. I saw neighbor Joggle come along, and he had 



132 FARMING AS IT IS. 

been to the city and bought a barrel for eight dollars, 
and you know that Mrs. Joggle Is mighty nice about 
all she has to eat. I am going to buy as cheap as 
anybody, — I am hard to beat on that." 

" Well, well," says Mrs. Minus, " I don't blame you 
a bit, — your money is as good as anybody's; and if 
Joggle can buy for eight dollars, I think you can too, 
and let old Shrewd go. He has got enough out of 
you, already. And while I think of it, Mrs. Neat was 
in here yesterday, and she said she got 25 cents for 
butter, a few days ago, and I know I can make as good 
butter as she can. You know we have had two tubs 
laid by all winter for a price. And I think you had 
better take the butter and go to the city and buy your 
flour, sell the butter, and make your own profits." 

" John, my boy, harness the pony," says Mr. Minus, 
*' I've got an idea in my head. Bring up the butter, 
Jim. 'A penny saved is worth two pence earned.' " 

Mrs. Minus — "Don't be so excited, George; eat a 
good hearty breakfast; — perhaps you won't get any- 
thing more till night. And while I think of it, I want 
you to recollect that we are out of most everytliing. I 
hardly know where to begin, for you knoAv just as sure 
as you go to the city, and it gets round that you have 
sold the butter, there will be a whole tribe here ; the 
Jones' and the Browns, and I don't know who. So 
you see how it is. Flour is one thing, and then there 
is sugar, tea, coifee, spices, in fact, it is a good deal 
easier to tell what we don't want than what we do. So 
buy anything almost that you see into Smith's or Ham's, 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 133 

dry goods or wet, — you can hardly mistake on that 
score. And I woukln't stop at Shrewd's at all, he 
will want to get the butter away from you for some of 
his stuff, and you know you can get anything he has 
got any time ; butter or no butter, he is always glad to 
trust. And I think when anybody has got anything 
real good they had always ought to go to the city with 
it, where folks know something. And by the way, had 
you not better let John go with you, he has ciphered 
clear to the rule of three, and you are so easily excited, 
and think that because you are so honest, everybody 
else is ? I know Smith nor Jones, nor none of that 
class, would not cheat you, but perhaps they won't 
want the butter, and you may have to go some where 
else." 

Mr. Minus — "I can do my own figuring, as yet. 
If a man gets round me this day he is smart, that's all. 
You see to the cattle, boys, look after the pigs, carry 
home Jones' wheelbarrow and the ladder, get in the 
wood, and if old Dunn comes up here, don't tell him 
about the butter, and keep a sharp look out for Scrig- 
gins' sheep, keep them out of the field lot, and the 
brindle heifer might as well stay where she is. Now I 
am ' oph,' " whistling the tune of " catch a weasel 
asleep." 

Mr. Shrewd — " Good morning, Mr. Minus ; going 
to the city ? What you got here, butter ? The col- 
lector is in the Store, and he wants to see you." 

Collector — " Mr. Minus, how is it about your tax, 
the treasurer is dunning me up, says the schools are 
12 



134 FARMING AS IT IS. 

about closing, and he is as dry as a last years' bird's 
nest." 

Mr. Minus — " I'll see you when I come back, about 
the tax. What do you pay for butter, Mr. Shrewd ?" 
"We like to buy for 20, — how is yours ? Good, I dare 
say !" " Fair." 

Mr. Minus drives up to Smith's on C. street. " Ah, 
Mr. Minus," says Smith, " what can we do for you to- 
day ? " " What do you pay for butter ? " " We have 
been paying 20." "I want a quarter," says Minus. 
" Well, if you want a barrel of flour, perhaps we can 
trade." " What do you ask for flour ? " " We are 
selling the best for ten." " Joggle told me he bought 
for eight a few days ago." " Very well ; he paid in 
butter at 20. We will let you have the same for seven, 
and take your butter at 20, same as we paid Joggle." 
" The best kind of flour, do you mean ? " says Minus. 
" Certainly, the very best." " 'Tis done ! " says Minus. 
•*' That is a trade ! " Out went the flour, and in went 
the butter. 

" There is 100 pounds of the butter, you say." 
" Yes, just a hundred." " There will be thirteen dol- 
lars coming' to you, Mr. Minus ; what will you have 
that in ? " " You mean what will I have that out of," 
says Mr. Minus, much elated at his sagacity. " Well, 
any way to suit." " Well, I don't care if the rest 
comes out of the money drawer." " We expected to 
pay the balance in goods." " That want the bai-gain." 
" O, well, if you insist on the money, you can have it." 
So the money was counted out, and a prouder chap is 



BOAP.D OF AGRICULTURE. 135 

seldom seen than our hero. So he started for home, 
conwratuhitino; himself on his successes. 

In the first place, he had bought his flour for seven 
dollars, and made three dollars on that, and then, on a 
sly, he had got a cash balance, and outwitted Smith, 
the trader. 

He stopped at the village to pay his tax, — counted 
out the thirteen dollars, which left a balance of two 
dollars unpaid, and then started for home. After su^J- 
per, and everything was arranged for a social chat, and 
he (Minus) had become somcAvhat calmed down, he 
thought to break his boys in, in cutting their " eye- 
teeth " while young. So he commenced to unfold to 
the family the transactions of the day, highly elated, 
occasionally striking his favorite tune, " catch a wea- 
sel," &c. 

" Now, my boys, take the slate and pencil and figure 
up what I have made." " Well, father, what was your 
first oflTer ? " " Well, if I would pay him (Smith) ten- 
dollars for the flour, he would give me 25 cents for the 
butter. But do you suppose I would give that for 
flour when I could get it a dollar less than Joggle, and 
three dollars less than he first asked for it, and then he 
thought he was going to pay me all out of the store, 
and I fixed him on that too." " Tell me the whole, and 
I'll figure it aU up." " Certainly." 

" Well, father, I believe I understand it. If he had 
allowed 25 cents for the butter, it would have amounted 
to 25 dollars for the hundred pounds." " Yes, yes, but 
I had got to pay ten dollars for the flour." " Keep 



136 FARMING AS IT IS. 

cool, dad, and I'll figure it all up. 20 cents for the 
butter, left you thirteen dollars, reckoning the flour at 
seven. But if you had got twenty-five dollars for the 
butter, and the Hour had been ten dollar.*, which taken 
from the twenty-five would have left fifteen dollars, and 
fifteen is two more than thirteen. So I do not see but 
what you lost two dollars by the operation. Just 
enough to have paid the balance on the taxes," " or 
would have got," says Mrs. Minus, "nearly all of those 
little articles that we wanted." Minus stops whisthng 
and drums on the table with his fingers. 

Mr. Minus., (pettishly,) — " How was it with Jog- 
gle, — he paid one dollar more than I did ? " 

John — "Well, it took just 40 pounds of butter to 
pay for the barrel of flour, and it did not make any dif- 
ference what the price was as long as one balanced the 
other. It would have made no difierence with you if 
your butter had only paid for the flour, but all the ex- 
cess of butter over the value of the flour, was a loss of 
nearly four cents a pound, or two dollars on the sixty 
pounds." 

Mr. Minus — " Well, boys, it is about time to go to 
bed." [Exit boys, reflecting on the appropriateness of 
the old gent's name.] 

Mrs. Minus — " Just as I expected. Minus of most 
of the useful things of life for the want of a little cal- 
culation ! " 

The reader will see by this simile the importance of 
keeping the prices up, to all who sell more than they 
buy. To those, also, who buy more than they sell, I 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 137 

hold It is equally important to keep prices up, for when 
prices of labor comes down to the standard of the old 
countries, the per cent, on capital will come down with 
it. If It is claimed that these things cannot be con- 
troled, I should say that I do not want to control It. I 
desire that labor, as far as legislation Is concerned, 
should be left free ; let the law of supply and demand 
have Its effect on society, and although we must per- 
haps be governed, to some extent, by the price of labor 
in other countries, yet let us not hasten this equality 
by pursuing a blmd policy. If It Is claimed that we do 
not legislate to cramp labor in this country, I should 
say for what other purpose is all this legislation in re- 
gard tj Agricultural Societies, extending to every State 
in the Union but one, and most of the Territories, but 
to keep down the price of all Agricultural products, 
and as those represent labor, therefore labor has to 
suffer. 

All those who are trying to keep down the price of 
what they have to buy, are like " Mr. Minus ; " got 
their minds so fixed on this, thinking how shrewd tliey 
are, when all the time they are cutting their own fin- 
gers, and in the end find that somebody has cyphered 
them out of their butter. Let the prices rule high, 
then the laborer gets a good support, the Idle will have 
to go to work, pauperism will decrease, the soil will 
increase in value as the means of living rise. Boards 
of Agriculture will be among the things that were, 
and peace and prosperity will again reign in the land. 

I have several times spoken of the habits and char- 



138 FARMING AS IT IS. 

acter of the men who are principally or prominently 
interested in moving the machinery by which the vari- 
ous Agricultural Societies, Boards of Agriculture, &c., 
are sustained. Here is a short extract taken from an 
address before the Middlesex North Agricultural Soci- 
ety, by B. F. Sherman, Esq. 

" The subject of an address before an Agricultural 
Society upon its annual exhibition day should have 
some connection with agriculture ; but the speaker 
ought to know that whereof he doth affirm. And it 
seems presumptuous for one who can hardly tell a field 
of growing rye foom a field of oats, or wheat from 
barley, and who cannot tell a Devonshire cow from an 
Ayrshire, or a Durham, or any imported breed from a 
native, to address a society of practical farmers and 
stock-growers. And what can he tell you about the 
labor-saving of improved corn cultivators, who has 
never wielded the hoc long enough to have the back- 
ache, — or about mowing machines, who has never cut 
grass enough with a scythe for one horse baiting ? 
Nor can fruit culture be learned from one who knows 
nothing about it. Ye cannot gather grapes of thorns, 
or figs of thistles." 

In this extract the speaker talks like an honest man. 
He says he knows nothing about the business. He 
has never " hoed long enough to have the back-aqhe," 
and is perfectly inexperienced in all other kinds of 
farm work. Yet these men, above all others, are the 
men to talk to farmers, and tell them all about what a 
profitable business it is, — how noble, how intelligent 
they are, and all that. 

Suppose Mr. Sherman wanted authority for deciding 
a legal point in controversy of considerable import. 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 139 

would he (y-o to some farmer's calendar, or to Black- 
stone ? No more ridiculous is one idea than the other. 
He knows he is fond of rump steak and plum pudding, 
and perhaps thinks if he can get them cheap, he is the 
richer. I think he is the poorer. 

Now let us see what he says to the farmers, because 
if he is going to talk, he must say something, of course. 

" A plant now prominently before the community, is 
the dioscorea batatis, or Chinese yam or potatoe. No 
root has been on exhibition to-day, and so far as I 
know, no farmer of this society has attempted its culti- 
vation. The statement made with regard to this plant, 
that it is everywhere cultivated in China, and affords 
the chief alimentary support of its vast population 
greatly surpi'ised me, and has caused me to give the 
subject considerable attention. 

Mr. Prince, of Flushing, L. I., is principally con- 
cerned in introducing this esculent. Desiring of ascer- 
taining the truth of the assertion regarding its exten- 
sive use as food by the Chinese, I wrote to Mr. Prince, 
that in all treatises upon China within my reach, no 
mention was made of the plant, and asked for the 
authority for his statement. In answer, he refers to 
various publications, but principally to translations in 
French, of five large Chinese Agricultural works. If 
time permitted, I would read his entire letter, as it 
would certainly interest you. He says : ' Your State 
Agricultural Society, last year, awarded a premium 
for 1000 bushels of carrots to the acre, and as this root 
is larger and longer than the carrot, I verily believe 
that 1000 bushels may be relied on as a regular crop. 
I will name to you one thing more, viz : manure — 
manure in quantity is absolutely injurious to the root. 
I have not this year put any on my three acres, and I 
do believe that a heavy crop could be produced on the 
sandy barrens of New Jersey, and on the poorest and 
most neglected lands of your State.' 



llO FARMING AS IT IS. 

The advantages of this esculent, as claimed, are : 
That it is perfectly hardy during our severest winters ; 
that it is more nutritious than any plant we possess ; 
that it is highly agreeable to the taste — superior to 
the common potatoe, which it must soon supersede ; 
that its product is so abundant as to render it much 
cheaper than any other food ; that its culture is easy 
and simple. A kitchen garden, say fifteen feet square, 
would grow the entire food of a family of seven, with 
an overplus for company use. 

The agricultural press of this country has, in gen- 
eral, ridiculed the pretensions of Mr. Prince. It is 
unfortunate, if the plant is really valuable, that a more 
moderate course has not been adopted in bringing it 
before the public. If, in fact, it is in extensive use in 
China, and is nutritious and palatable, it will certainly 
be soon cultivated with us. My opinion can be of no 
value to you, but I will state the following facts : 

French agricultural reports (some of them, at 
least) arc extravagant in its praise. 

The two last of our Patent Office Reports make 
highly favorable mention of it. 

The United States Agricultural Society, at Phila- 
delphia, last year, reported in its favor." 

This is what INIr. Sherman says. A kitchen garden 
fifteen feet rquare is going to produce the entire food 
of a family, and have some to spare. Then the Bible 
declaration, " By the sweat of your face shall you 
eat bread," is revoked; is it not? Because a family 
of seven can cultivate a field of this size without sweat- 
ing much, or having the "back-ache." Then what 
would Mr. Sherman niake this crop out of, as " manure 
is injurious " in any considerable quantity ? The com- 
mon flat turnip contains more than \)2 par cent, of 
water, and no man can live on that for any considera- 
ble time ; yet this must be a good deal less nutritive 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 141 

than that, if it can be made in a '* sand-bank." What 
a blessing to the world it would have been had our 
lecturer lived at a former period ; how many " back- 
aches " might have been saved. 

On page 178 and 179 of Mr. Flint's Eeport is a 
statement of a farmer in Hopkinton, which would be 
a remarkable production, if foimd anywhere else. Our 
farmer, it seems, was after a premium on a crop of 
43] rods of carrots. He says : 

" Owing to the short and cold season, I have not 
had .so S7nall a crop for three years. There have been 
carrots raised on the same land for the last ten or eleven 
years, and my crops have improved in quantity and 
quality each ycarT 

My friend, according to his statement, (and in order 
that there may be no possibility of a doubt in regard 
to it, brings forward a neighbor, who over his own sig- 
nature certifies to the fact,) says that his crop amount- 
ed to 251 bushels. This is at the rate of nearly 1,000 
bushels to the acre, and it is claimed to be the smallest 
crop that has grown on the land for three years. Does 
your neighbor certify to this fact, also ? If this is 
true, and your neighbor swears to it, what do you 
mean when you say that " My crops (carrots) have 
improved in quantity and quality each year ? " 

According to this statement, the whole cost of the 
carrots was $21.10, and the income from the sales 
$70.80, making a profit of more than 250 per cent. 
At this rate, Hopkinton ought to be a remarkably 
thrifty town, and carrot raising so lucrative a business 



142 FARMING AS IT IS. 

that a fortune might be made every year. I most 
wonder that more attention has not been directed to 
this locahty, as it seems that my friend commenced 
this business about the time of the breaking out of the 
gold mania in that distant and then inhospitable coun- 
try, California. And I am very sure that but few gold 
diggers can show any such profits as this, after all 
their labor and privation. 

Now let us see how extensively our Hopkinton friends 
have gone into this business, and how rich it has made 
them. For the benefit of all who may desire to emi- 
grate to this town, I will say that it is a large territo- 
rial precinct, in the southwest corner of Middlesex 
County, Mass. In 1855, the population was 3,934 ; 
the valuation in 1850 was |887,091.60. The people 
are to a oreat extent enn:a2:ed in manufactures of 
many kinds. The shoe business takes the lead. The 
statistics do not show an average amount or yield of 
agricultural products. For instance, the yield of In- 
dian corn was 29 bushels to the acre ; wheat 1| acres 
12 1 bushels per acre ; rye, 31^ acres, G^q\ bushels 
per acre ; barley, 2| acres, 14:-^q\ bushels per acre ; 
oats, 109^ acres, ^"2^-^-^ bushels per acre ; potatoes, 
205^ acres, 82-=^^-^ bushels per acre ; onions, -| acre ; 
carrots, 1| acres, 550 bushels per acre. Total value of 
carrots, $232. 

Thus it will be seen that what thrift there is in the 
town does not come from its agriculture. 

Take the 1,500 shoemakers from the place, and 
would carrots bring 30 cents per bushel, or could a 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 143 

man make milk from them at a profit ? This is what 
should more deeply interest my friend, for of what use 
is a surplus of agricultural products, without neighbors 
to consume them ? Although this would be consid- 
ered a poor town, yet that is of itself no evidence of 
poverty among the masses of the people. For if my 
friend can sell carrots at a profit of 250 per cent., let 
me say that it is not the rich who pay these prices, nor 
those who herald forth the immense profits of agricul- 
ture, for they in their kindness for the farmer, keep 
runners to hang upon the corners of the streets to catch 
some luckless market man, who, tired and weary, is in 
a fit mood to dispose of his load for a song. These are 
the men who subscribe to the guarantee funds, and 
think they are promoting the farmer's interest by re- 
ducing the value of his products to starvation prices. 

" I can sell them (carrots) quick for 30 cents per 
bushel. I would recommend all who can, to cultivate 
this valuable root every year." Suppose, friend, that 
the business was prosecuted somewhat extensively, 
would that be likely to reduce the profits any ? Try 
it ; say, plant half an acre, and see what effect that 
has upon the profit. And then, instead of *' declining 
to sell them at all," let it be known that you want to 
dispose of them, and actually sell them, and when you 
have the cash in your hand, you can then calculate 
upon the profit full as accuratelg as when they are in 
the cow manger. It is cutomaxy in taking account of 
stock to estimate all goods unsold at cost, if they are 
worth cost, if not, at what they will sell for. This is 



144 



FARMING AS IT IS. 



among all that class of people who believe truth to be 
better than error, — who do not care to deceive them- 
selves, nor any one else, — who, when they make a 
statement, would consider it an insult to be required to 
get the affidavit of a neighbor to substantiate it. 

The records of your town show that farming has not 
been a profitable business ; that what thrift there is, is 
from the earnings of mechanical industry ; and were it 
not for this, your goods would have to be carted to 
market, and then sold at a price that would change the 
balance to the other side. These are the things I would 
have all farmers consider, for the mere accident of in- 
heriting a farm should neither make or destroy the 
manhood of a free American citizen. 

Such statements as I have in all kindness noticed 
above, can in no wise benefit the farmer, for if the 
people considered them reliable, a farm in Hopkinton 
would not go a begging at a price a little above the 
value of the improvements. And if those who have 
been instrvmiental in manufacturing a public opinion, 
which has induced all that class of statements to which 
I have taken the liberty to refer, believed that would 
benefit the farmer, it would be among- the last thine-s 
of their lives to consummate. They want to make the 
price of living cheap in our cities, as that induces thrift 
there, and increases their dividends. This, with them, 
is a regular business transaction, as much so as the 
" hmris and hulls " in their note shaving and stock 
jobbing operations ; and if any farmer wants any more 
evidence of the facts, I hope he will lose no time to 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 145 

see them as they are at their own homes, and not trust 
mucli to the papers, whose business it is to puff them 
and their policy into the kind embraces of the unso- 
phisticated farmer. 

And the sooner the fai-mers make up their minds to 
beheve this view of the matter, and practice up to this 
belief, taking all necessary time to investigate and 
elucidate for themselves, without any regard to what 
" Mrs. Grundy " has to say, the better it will be for 
them, for their children, for humanity, for liberty, for 
the principles of our fathers, and for, at a future pe- 
riod, Old America. 

SCIENTIFIC AND EDUCATIONAL. 

This is the headins: of the Act under which the 
Board obtain their appropriations for current, travel- 
ling, incidental, and oif^er necessary expenses. '•''Scien- 
tific and Educational ." Science — knowledge ; col- 
lection of general principles on any subject. — JVebster. 
Science — three thousand dollars' worth of manure, 
" run to waste, because the State did not make an ' ap- 
2)ro2)7'iation ' to enable a man, boy and horse to trans- 
port it to the field." — Board of Agriculture. Educa- 
tional — pertaining to education. — Webster. Educa- 
tional — the philosophy of attraction, cohesion, that 
one object has for another of the same affinity, as the 
pocket to the treasury. — Board of Agriculture. 

Educational and scientific combined — a lean peas- 
antry, a fat aristocracy. — State House farmers. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE AGRICULTURAL PRESS. 

A Boston Farmer — Figures and Faroiing — Following a Phantom — 
"The New England Farmer"— An Article on how to Reckon the 
Cost of Farm Products — The Manure for an Acre of Corn — Editor 
New England Farmer— His Article — Note to the Editor— His Reply 
— Miller Rule — Article of Aug. 20, 1859 — Reply to the Editor - 
The Farmers must Conquer their Prejudices — Cunning and Friend- 
ship — Agriculture in 1800 — Questions to the Farmers — Labor to 
Cultivate an Acre of Corn — New England Not all a Sandbank — 
Amount of Corn to the Acre. 

In order to do full justice to the subject upon which 
I am engaged, it will be necessary here to say a word 
or two about myself. 

About the year 1840, a gentleman went from Boston 
up into a very quiet and pleasant town in the interior 
of the Granite State, and purchased what had been 
considered a very productive and desirable farm of 
about one hundred and thirty acres. He took hold of 
farming with a good deal of enthusiasm, expecting to 
Improve on the old style of practices in that section, by 
introducing what some termed " Boston notions." Af- 
ter making some improvements on the buildings, trees, 
&c., by the expenditure of considerable sums, and by 
brlno-ino; the land Into suitable condition for successful 
operations, and waiting patiently for some returns for 
the outlay, all the time keeping the figures of expen- 

146 



THE AGRICULTURAL PRESS. 147 

dlture (as he was a good accountant) in view, and 
when the first rotation of crops failed to represent suit- 
able returns for the outlay, yet hoping the succeeding 
ones to somewhat change the balance ; and after a few 
years of enthusiastic effort to get returns at all ade- 
quate to the expenditure, he backed right square down, 
comino; to the conclusion that farmins; and figurino; had 
no relation to each other, and could not travel the same 
road in harmony. 

Of course our friend was in a few years ready as 
thousands of others are to sell out. After several years 
of unsuccessful parleying, he found a customer in the 
writer of these pages. 

It so happens that every man that goes to farming 
from some other business, thinks he can see exactly the 
rock upon which others split. And it very much de- 
pends upon the length of his purse, his enthusiasm, and 
his bump of " don't-like-to-give-it-up-so, Mr. Brown," 
to determine the time required to ascertain he has been 
following a phantom. 

In the year 1851, the writer left a tolerable business 
to engage in " the business " of farming. A few years 
took the starch all out of his enthusiasm, as furnishing 
a prospective realization of the embryo fortune which 
was only well commenced. The location was then at 
fault. Who could expect to farm successfully away 
from the large markets, from railroads, agricultural so- 
cieties. Boards of Agriculture, blood stock, wood mar- 
kets, and fancy farming generally. So the writer made 
up his mind to leave the hills, rocks, and unyielding 



148 FAEMING AS IT IS. 

soil of New Hampshire, go down into the old Bay 
State, where folks farm by the " card." After spend- 
ing considerable time and a little money in " prospect- 
ing," he finally came to the conclusion that the old 
town of Chelmsford furnished the most desirable site 
within his means, for returning a moderate reward for 
the capital and labor bestowed. And to-day, after 
eight or nine years of farming, the writer thinks that 
on this farm he can produce the various farm products, 
such as the several grains and root crops, hay, &c., at 
as little cost of labor and capital, as can be produced 
upon any farm within his knowledge. He is equally 
sure that no man of ordinary strength and physical 
ability, can keep up the fertility of the soil, the build- 
ings and fences in condition, pay the taxes, insurance, 
&c. &c., and get six per cent, on the capital, by the 
whole waste of his own labor, if lie does nothing but 
farm. 

It is not on my own account that I speak in this wise, 
but it is to make an effort to correct some of the evils 
that exist ; that they do exist as has been claimed in 
this work, nine farmers out of every ten in New Eng- 
land, who " have no axe to grind," as the saying is, 
will bear me witness. 

Therefore, entertaining these views, and supposing 
many people were not generally aware of the facts as 
they exist, the thought occurred to me to call attention to 
it through the public press. Some six months since, I 
penned the following article for the "New England 
Farmer," a paper published in Boston, claiming to have 



THE AGRICULTURAL PRESS. 149 

a large circulation, and mainly among the farmers. 
Feeling very confident that the influence of the Agri- 
cultural Press was detrimental to the farmers' interest, 
however honest it was intended ; yet such being the 
fact, I supposed they would not shrink from a candid ex- 
amination of the subject, inasmuch as they always seem 
ready to publish the most absurd statements, the ten- 
dency of which was, to keep down the price of Agri- 
cultural products. 

HOW TO PiECKOI( TEE COST OF FAEM PEODUCTS. 

Mr. Editor : One of the great reasons why farm- 
ers do not succeed any better in their business, is that 
they do not stop to figure — they are negligent in this 
particular, and seldom, if ever, know the precise cost 
of a single article they produce. They work hard and 
long, taxing their physical powers to the utmost, and 
neglecting the mental, till they have been pursuadcd to 
believe that it is all right that they should produce for 
others to consume, without adequate recompense to 
themselves. 

Now, what I want to say is this : I want to see every 
farmer who produces any article to sell, know exactly 
what it costs — no guess-work about it; hut to know, 
that's the point. I presume no one doubts but that 
everything we produce has a positive, definite cost, for 
whether we know it or not, such is the fact ; then why 
deceive ourselves in the matter ? I know it is thought 
to be very difficult to ascertain the precise cost of farm 
products ; but if it is difficult it is not impossible. 
Then let us try to systemize the business to such a de- 
gree as to become familiar with it, and in time it will 
become so easy that we should be almost ashamed not 
to know all the facts in the matter. How long would 
a merchant or manufacturer stand if they did not know 
13* 



ir)0 FAIIMIXO AH 11' IS, 

lli(! c.ohI of Hicir poo<lH. '^Fnlur, for Illh'liiricc, ;i, |);iir of 
fiiK! p;iil<'r lioolH. How in llit; cont of tlictn to Ik; icck- 
oncd ? 'J Im! inal(!rliil (tf wlilcli llicy ui«; <',(;iii))()(-:{(l Ih 
tiikcri fnuii (svciy <|ii;ir<('r of llur j^lolx; ; iiiiiiiy i:-liin<lH 
of flu; ()('c;iri iin; l>roii;;lit inlo r((|iii,silioii 1(» |)ni<liic<! 
llitin. 'I'lu: J<V(!li('li, lli(5 lOlinliHli, (Ik; J(;iliiiii, iii'id llu; 
Bhrcw<l Yjink(!(!, luivo all Imd a fin^cjr in llic niiiftcr; 
alHo viirloiiH iDUcljiniTy, u« well an JjiiHy liandn, luivc, 
b(M'i) l)roii;»;li(. inlo r(M|ijiMi(ioii by iniiny (liil('r(!Tit jjcopic, 
and yd. any niunufiiclurcr would Ix; jiHliiina'd not, (o 
know, vvidiin one; ccnl, tlic; cohI, of (ivcry pair \w. rnakcH. 
Ji<(- HH I'cckon np (lie. cohI, of <'-ul(i\ ;i(in«^ iin uc.rt: of 
corn in I.Ikj niiinc manner lliat a ninnuliiclurcr rcckonH 
llic, coHf. of IiiH ^oodn, and hcc wiiaT w«! nhall make of it. 
Wo will lak(! !in av(!r:i;i;c acre of New J'in{.fland land, 
HU(!li a,H in iiisindly ptil, lo corn in lliiH Hcetion, :ind kcc; 
wliat il «/o('M ('os(. <o i"aiH<! a. buHlicl. I will, in lIu; lirHl. 
place, niuk(! flu; li}:;ureN, and (lien ji;ive Kona; rcin-onn for 
re('koninjj; jih I do. 'llic rcjiditrwill iindccHliind lliat we 
are coiihiderin^!; ihe nisillcr uh h achndly in, and not aH 
it iH under Home extra<trdinary circumHtnnccM made to 
a]ipcar. W(! will Kn|)poK(! lliiH acn; lo be worlli forty 
doilarH in (lie m;irkcl, and located onc-fourfli of a niil<! 
from (lie l)iiildiii;j-H, and vvc will cnl(i\a(c il, in tla; u^nal 
way. 

(J7it: Arrc of Corn Dr. 

May 10, Two TDca, two yoko oxen and jjIow ono day $-1.2^ 

" 15, OiK! iiiiin, four oxen und curl, one day Imuliiif,' 

Miiinnro rt.L'/3 

" ir>, 'i'<ii joiidH iniuiurc 10. 00 

" 10, One JMiui one diiy, iind yoke oxen mid liiirrow Imlf 

duy, Hpicndiii;.' niiiiiiiri' iind liiirinwiiif^ 1.7/5 

" 17, IMiiii, lioiHc und Iioy I day t'lirrowiiig ,76 

" IH, Miiii und l)oy OIK! day plaiiliiiK, $1.<'>0, Heed 2/5... 1.7/5 

" 10, J'nItinK n|i line, i<ci- 25 

JuiK! (I, Two 111(11, liorwe and iilow cultivating und lioeiiig. 2.50 

" 0, 'i'o i'('|ilaiilin(f and nulling 2.00 

" 25, To Iiocin)^ and cultivatiii)r 2.50 

July 10, To ))ul]ing vveedH .50 

Hep. 10, 'i'o two men eiillinf,' ntalkH and Htookinn do 2,00 

" 25, 'J'o carting HtuikH to liarn, &c .50 



'rin-: aoricultukal press. 1.01 

Oct. 12, To liarvcHling 2.00 

" l.'J, 'J'fj IiuHliiijg mid tukirif,' care of I>uUh 2.00 

" ].'{, To intorcKt on land, capiful and taxcH .'J. 00 

" l."{, 'J'o fcncin;,', and jcntH of l»arn and corn houHC. . . . .'J. 00 

L)cc. 16, To Hhcliiiig and marketing corn r>.00 

$47.00 
Acre of Corn. (Jr. 

Dec. 1.0, By ?,0 l)UHh. Hlicllcd corn Hold iJj.'JO 00 

" 1.0, J{y IiumIi. c'urH KofI, corn m>\i\ 2.00 

" 1.0, iJy htovcr and putnpkinn /3.00 

$.'n.oo 

Net loss on crop $10.00 

Thus it will be Been that we have cultivated our (Top 
ii) the most prudent iirid eeonornieul rruinner ; wc; have 
(•,har}^<;(l nothing to tlie eroj) hut what rij^Jidy hch^nj^H 
tluTc, and have alh)wed a hij^h average ylt^hl, and koM 
it for nun;!) more than farmers UHually get, and yet have 
made a net hjHH of ten dolhirH I 

I want fo f^ny here, that, in my opinion, ihcre arc; hut 
comparalively few aeren (jf corn planted in ihiw Slate 
hut what run the owner in dcht nujre than thiw has. 
And what i.s true in regard to thia erop in true of mowt 
ot herH ; only muc^h more ho, for anide from the hay erop 
tli(; corn Ih the mont reliable, as it is th(! most imj)ortant 
upon the farm. J do not wIkIi tlx; r(!ad(!r to und(;rKtar]d 
hy thiM, that I HUppone the farmers UHUally Hell their 
corn. 'J IiIh in not ho. FamierH in thiw Feetif^n are gen- 
erally huyerH of thin article, and eouKume upon their 
farms thin and moHt other eroi)H, and hy this way of 
doing liuHineHH do not g<!nerally realise more than one- 
half what w(! have allowed. 

'I'he farmerH, I think, have a peculiar way of myHti- 
fiying their huhincHH hy running one thing into ari(jther, 
iis hy feeding out their luiy, corn, tVcc., to mnke nn^re 
maniire at a Iok.s of Kome llfty per cent. — to raine more 
<-orn at ntill another Iohh, and in thiw way go on, year 
after year, and do not find out their miHtake till their 



152 FARMING AS IT IS. 

physical energies are broken up, and, unless they have 
had some outside successes, a portion, at least, of their 
capital is exhausted. 

It seems to me that farmers, like all other classes of 
men, should call things by their right names, and if hay 
will bring a dollar a hundred, and corn a dollar a 
bushel, why not sell it, and not feed it out to stock, 
when we cannot possibly get more than one-third of it 
on the growth of our cattle, and oftentimes not any- 
thing. I very well know that stock makes manure, and 
manure, judiciously applied, makes hay and corn ; but 
all these things have a dollar and cent value, and 
should not be purchased at too great a cost. What I 
want is this, (as we have it from the best authority, 
" that the laborer is worthy of his hire,") that the man 
who labors upon his fami, (if judiciously,) should so 
understand his business as to realize as much as other 
laborers get. I can see no reason why a man who 
owns a farm should throw his labor away, or any con- 
siderable portion of it, any more than the merchant or 
manufacturer, who, to save clerk-hire, do their own 
work. One of two things is evident, that the farmer 
gets no return or per cent, on his capital ; or, reckon- 
ing six per cent, on his capital, he gets no pay for his 
labor. I mean, of course, by work on the farm. 

I know very well that it will be considered unusual 
to reckon some things which I have put into this crop. 
But what if it is unusual ? Do they not rightly be- 
long there ? The old custom of half reckoning, or not 
reckoning at all, is what I want to see broken up, and 
let every crop and every animal upon the farm answer 
for itself. In this way, and in no other, can the farmer 
hope to stand on an equality with all other classes of 
men. I am perfectly aware that different localities, 
seasons and circumstances, will vary the figures some- 
what, so that no positive rule can be given which will 
always be applicable ; yet, the rule will ahvays hold 
good, — never deceive yourself, nor cut your corners 
too close, for there will always be some waste or losses 



THE AGEICULTUEAL PRESS. 153 

which no system can pi'event. Our business Is extreme- 
ly hazardous. Crops are liable to be cut off" or broke 
in upon, cattle to sicken and die, and being exposed to 
the extreme variableness of the climate, we find, after 
the utmost care, that we are constantly runiiing great 
risks to health and future enjoyment. 

However, let us stick to our caption, and see what 
we can do to make up this loss on our corn crop, for we 
have made a positive loss there, and the shrewdest 
Yankee that ever was made, cannot figure it any other 
way. Suppose we go into the stock business, and see 
if that will extricate us from the dilemma ? This is a 
very important part of agriculture, and most of our 
friends who are fond of good roast beef, and good 
sweet butter and milk, (barring the naughty milk-man,) 
consider it very profitable. Let us see. When a calf 
is first dropt, his hide Is worth one dollar, the meat will 
pay for taking it off for the pigs, and I presume that 
no farmer would make any other use of it. The ac- 
count will stand thus : 

Calf, Dr. 

To self $1.00 

To 5 qts. milk per day one week, at 2 cts. per quart 70 

To 6 qts. skim milk per day seven weeks, at 1 cent 2.94 

To 1 2 bushels meal 1.50 

To care and attention, 3 cents per day 2.94 

To 18 weeks at grass, at 10 cents per week 1.80 

To 26 weeks barn, at 50 cents per week 13.00 

$22.88 

Thus It will be seen that our calf has cost us at 
one year old, $22.88. Now shall we sell it or grow it 
up Into an ox or cow ? If it Is decided to sell it, a loss 
of more than one-half must be sustained. If to keep 
it, my word for It, the loss will be greater still. This 
is stock-raising. It will be seen that there are several 
smiill items that I have not put into the cost of this 
calf, such as rent, interest, &c., which legitimately be- 
long there. Usually in reckoning the cost of cattle. 



154 FARMING AS IT IS. 

we offset the labor account against the manure ; but 
no one will suppose that a calt" can be taken from the 
cow at one week old and cared for until it is eio-ht 
weeks for any such pay. 

I know that the question comes up here, how is it, 
then, that the farmers get along ? I can very easily 
answer that question, but can do so, perhaps, in no 
better way than in the language I have used before, 
and say that no poor man can live by farmino-, unless 
he works for wages. ^ I am perfectly aware that this 
view of the matter is directly antagonistical to the 
views of those who undertake to shape public opinion. 
But what if it is ? If it is true, It will stand ; if not 
it AvIll fall. To take a narrow view of the subject, I 
might say the popular one, it would seem to be for the 
interest of all other classes of men but the farmers to 
have farm products cheap. But, if the farmers were 
wise, they would at once dispel this popular clamor of 
glorifying them in order to fatten upon credulity. I 
freely admit that such arguments. In times past, seemed 
plausible and generous, but I begin to see through the 
film that has been placed upon my eyes, and rather re- 
hictantly admit that it looks a little foxy. Why is it 
that all farmers who have no outside help, find that it 
is with the greatest difficulty that they can meet their 
engagements, and are continually In debt to the mer- 
chant, the mechanic, and the money-lender? It is, 
because they have to sell their products, almost uni- 
versally, under the cost — many less than one-half 
what it costs to produce them. And I hesitate not to 
say that many farm products do not pay mechanics' 
wages, sim]ily to harvest and market them. The 
amount of the loss to the farmers of New England this 
year, on the corn crop alone, Is sufficient, if sustained 
by the traders and manufacturers, to close the tills of 
every bank in the State, and " nary red,'" would be 
the universal response. In all other kinds of business, 
as far as I know, some system or uniformity of prices 
prevails. What the mechanic charges for a certain 



THE AGRICULTURAL PRESS. 155 

job to-day will be the price all the year, always charg- 
ing a small profit on the material used and a living 
price for his woi'k. This is rioht, and with this ar- 
rangement we find no fault. We expect to pay the 
trailers and mechanics a fair jjrofit ; but how is it when 
we have anything to sell ? Is there ever a word said 
about profit or cost ? Not at all ! We can buy the 
article so and so, and that settles the matter. Now, 
what I want is, to have the farmer know what the ar- 
ticle costs, and not scab the craft. 
Chelmsford^ Oct., 1859. 

This article was published in the JSfew England 
Farmer., Nov. 12th, (1859,) and perhaps has excited 
more comment than any similar article that has been 
published. This was what I sought, and did not care 
how extensively the ideas were circulated, if I could 
have the privilege of meeting, by such argument as I 
could furnish, the reasoning of those who took a dififer- 
ent view of the matter. This seemed to me to be fair, 
for if I was right, then, of course, others were wrong, 
and vice versa. At any rate, I did not see how a dis- 
cussion of the various subjects could do any hurt, if 
the object was to secure a more equal distribution of 
the rewards of labor. 

Of course, I could not say but little in a single news- 
paper article, nothing more than to break the ice, sup- 
posing the same privilege would be extended to me 
that was allowed to others. And I presume most of 
those who have commented upon' this article in the 
Farmer have supposed that I could reply if I desired' 
to do so. That they have been honest, mainly, and 
desired the general interest of the people, I have no 



156 FAEMING AS IT IS. 

doubt. Generally tliose who have written upon this 
article, have mistaken the meaning of the writer in one 
or more of the views taken. But all who have read 
attentively what is here written, will need no other ex- 
planation. In regard to the amount of manure it took 
to fertilize an acre of corn to produce the thirty-seven 
dollars' worth of grain and fodder, it will be seen cor- 
responds very nearly with my previous estimates in 
this work, and although it was there put a little too 
low, the object of which was to keep within bounds, 
that if I erred at all, it should be against myself, and 
make the variation less than the facts would prove, 
rather than otherwise. 

Some who have commented upon this article, have 
said the fertilizing material should be two or three 
times as much, which would have more than doubled 
the crop, and as the labor bill would have been but 
little more, it would have told on the profits. My 
answer to this would be, that the crop is now consider- 
ably above the average, cither in this State or in the 
country, and I believe that truth is better than error, 
and although a man may have a right to deceive him- 
self, he never has to deceive others. Facts are good 
enough for me. 

In the same paper in which this article was j^ub- 
lished, (Nov. 12th,) the editor commented upon it in 
an editorial article, the whole of which I here publish. 



THE AGRICULTURAL PRESS. 157 

COST OF FAllM PEODUGTS. 

" In another column we give an article upon this 
subject, which may prove discouraging to some, but 
one which well deserves attention and critical investi- 
gation. We understand that the world is sustained by 
agriculture ; that in it, it lives and moves and has its 
being ; so there must be profit somewhere. Whether 
that profit is to be fi^und among our New England peo- 
ple, is the question to be solved. 

In looking over the items set down by our corres- 
pondent, we believe he has allowed about twenty-six 
days labor as necessary to produce one acre of corn. 
On refisrring to the ' Transactions of the Massachusetts 
Society for the Promotion of Agriculture,' we find that 
in the year 1800, they sent out a series of questions 
all over the State, making such inquiries as would 
elicit replies likely to show the average cost of our 
common farm crops. Among these questions was the 
following : 

" How many days labor of a man are usually em- 
ployed on an acre of Indian corn, including the getting 
in of all the stover and stripping the hushs from the 
ears i 

No question among the fifty which they propound- 
ed brought so many widely-different answers as this. 

Dr. Payne, of Worcester, set it at ten days ; Dr. 
Hubbard, of Concord, at fifteen; Mr. Babbit, of 
Brookfield, at sixteen; Mr. Heath, of Brookline, at 
fourteen, and Mr. Gardner, of the same town, at 
eighteen ; the Middlesex Society at fourteen ; Mr. 
Kent, of Newbury, at twenty ; Mr. Packard, of Marl- 
borough, the same ; and Col. Parsons, of Gloucester, 
at thirty-two. The average of these returns gives sev~ 
enteen and two-thirds days' work for a man to produce 
an acre of corn, beginning with the plowing and plac- 
ing the corn in the bin. With the improved imple- 
ments of the present day, we ought to be able to ac- 
complish the work with two or three days' less labor 
than they did then. 



158 FARMING AS IT IS. 

The subject Is an important one, and we hope it will 
receive careful attention." 

In the next paper but one, (Nov. 26th,) the editor 
had another leading article in reply to my article of 
Nov. 12th. Also, two other articles on the same sub- 
ject, one from an anonymous correspondent, (few of 
whom shall I notice in this work,) and one from Asa 
G. Sheldon, Esq., of Wilmington. Both articles are 
here submitted. 

IS FAMKG PROFITABLE! 

No one thing operates more injuriously to the inter- 
ests of agriculture than the widely-spread and popular 
idea, that farming is not profitable. It is almost a work 
of supererogation to reply to the charge, that the cul- 
tivation of the land, as an occupation for the masses 
of the people, is not a profitable employment, because 
it is evident to all who will look, that it is from this 
source that all supplies for the sustenance of man and 
beast are mainly drawn. The art of agriculture un- 
derlies all other arts, and sustains them all. Cease the 
cultivation of the soil, and commerce, manufactures, 
all sciences, and mechanic arts, and even breath itself, 
would soon cease. 

The pursuit of agriculture as an occupation, may 
not be as profitable under all circumstances, as some 
other pursuit. It may be better for the people of a 
sandy tract of country on the sea-shore, to turn their 
attention to fishing, than to raising grain or grass, or 
for those in a mountainous and rocky country to make 
the water of the valleys turn their wheels to transform 
forests into various articles for household use. There 
may be reasons why individuals in all our towns should 
find employment in agriculture less profitable than 
some others in which they might engage. But with 
an average price of labor, land and implements, and 
with that decree of skill which the land demands of 



THE AGRICULTUEAL TRESS. l^l) 

all, we do not believe that many acres of land are ever 
cultivated at a loss, when the crop is not injured by 
blight, frost, or other casualty. 

In the Fanner of Nov. 12, Mr. T. J. Pinkham, of 
Chelmsford, Mass., sent us an article entitled, "//o^o 
to Bechon the Cost of Farm Produce,'' m which he 
intended to show, by a single illustration of the cul- 
ture of an acre of corn, that the farmer loses, rather 
than makes, money, by his farming operations. We 
did not then, nor do we now, think that his premises 
or conclusions were correct, but gladly published his 
bold article for the purpose of arousing public- attention 
to this matter, and if possible, of establishing a more 
correct opinion in the public mind. In this, we are 
happy to say, there is now a fair prospect of succeed- 
ino-. As we then supposed would be the case, men of 
great experience in farming matters have taken up the 
glove thrown down by Mr. Pinkham, are criticising 
his positions sharply, and reversing the picture he 

drcAv. 11- 

The past season has been an unfavorable one m 
which to obtain a good crop of Indian corn, — too 
much cold and wet weather prevailing early, and it 
being too cold and dry in the latter part of the season ; 
and yet, by exercising the proper care in selecting the 
land, in manuring so as to give the young plants an 
early and vigorous growth, as well as to sustain the 
corn during Its time of maturing, we have never har- 
vested a sounder or better crop of corn in any season. 
It has given us sixty-five bushels to the acre, most of 
which is suitable to be sent to the stores to be sold for 
seed corn. 

We have not kept the precise cost of this crop, but 
near enough to show that it was not over seventy-five 
cents per°bushel. Let us see — corn is worth now 
one dollar a bushel. 

Sixty-five bushels, at $1.00, is $G5 00 

Cost of 65 bushels, at 75 cents, is 48 75 

Profit $16 25 



IGO FARMING AS IT IS. 

Stover, equal to one ton of best hay $10 25 

100 bushels turnips on same land 10 00 

$42 25 

Such Is the present year's result with us, and under 
the same mode of treatment, we have no doubt simihxr 
results would follow nme times in ten. We believe 
that the work of a good farmer for twenty days, 
will bring a crop of corn on an average from forty 
to sixty bushels to the acre. He must be a man 
of judgment ; nmst not spend five or six days in get- 
ting out the witch grass from an acre at the first hoe- 
ing, instead of destroying it by very late fall, and very 
early spring, plowing. If he makes this mistake, or 
some other as great, he labors at a loss, and adds five 
or six dollars to the cost of his crop ! And so with 
regard to several other points which it is scarcely nec- 
essary to enumerate. 

PROFIT OF FARMING. 

I notice a piece in your paper of Nov. 12th, 1859, 
headed, " How to reckon the cost of Farm Products," 
and signed T. J. Pinkham, Chelmsford, 1859. Mr. P. 
gives us a very particular statement of the cost of 
raising, and the value of one acre of corn in dollars 
and cents, which statement I am not disposed to find 
fault with, but am disposed to take it as it stands. I 
would only simply remark, that in Chelmsford, and its 
surrounding towns, where it is known that a farmer 
has any coi'n of his own raising to sell, instead of so- 
liciting purchasers, he will have five times as many 
call on him as he can supply ; this shows that a shil- 
ling a bushel Is rather a high price to charge for shell- 
ing and selling corn ; but still I am willing to take all 
his figures, just as they are, and thank friend Pinkham 
for his close and fair calculation. It Is just what I 
have been hoping some one would do, and hope we 
will have more statements of the same nature, from 
those who are disposed to believe there is no profit in 



THE AGRICULTURAL PRESS. 161 

farming. But I think his story will leave the subject 
as it is. I think it would have a tendency to lead 
young men who are now thinking what they shall do 
for a livino; into a ";reat error. There are two sides to 
everything. His estimated cost of plowing is fair, and 
sufficient tor plowing an acre of old pasture, trodden 
by the cows for years. If this was the kind of land, 
I will still add a little more experience to it. At the 
last hoeing of the corn, charge fifty cents for a half- 
bushel of rye, seventy-five cents for a bushel of red 
top seed, and twenty-five cents for sowing it over the 
ground, thus increasing the loss to $11.50. 

After having been cultivated through the season, ac- 
cording to the writer's account, what farmer, who has 
his senses, when the sun shines on this acre of land in 
1860, with the grass and rye then growing upon it, 
will not say that this acre of land is worth double what 
it was on the morning of the tenth day of May, 1859, 
before the plow broke the sod ? I will suppose this 
acre of land to be an acre of hay land, run down so as 
to need plowing, which we cannot suppose bore more 
than ten hundred to the acre. Is it not reasonable to 
suppose if this ground is sown down to barley and 
grass seed, that it will, for years, produce one ton to 
the acre? And cannot any man buying standing grass, 
afford to pay as much for one ton of grass standing on 
an acre of ground, lately plowed, as he can for a ton 
and a half, where he has to swing the scythe and the 
rake over three acres of ground to collect the hay of a 
poorer quality ? 

Whether the acre of land the writer speaks of was 
intended to be improved for pasture or mowing land, 
it is plain to be seen that the cultivation of the ground, 
while the corn crop was growing, rendered it capable 
of producing double its former value of grass for years 
to come. And this gives the profits of farming. 

Although he did not tell us in words, that thei'C was 
a profit in farming, he came so near it he unlocked the 
door, and made it very easy to swing open and let us 
14* 



162 FARMING AS IT IS. 

look in. Go on, friend Pinkham ; give us more state- 
ments, remembering that agriculture is so much like 
pure old gold and silver, that it will continue to shine 
as long as you continue to scour it, and a long time 
after. But if you should ever be able to convince me 
that there is no profit in farming, you will give me 
more anxiety, and cause in me more alarm, fearing that 
the world will come to an end by starvation, than Mil- 
ler's preaching, and all his followers, ever did ! 

Asa G. Sheldon. 
Wilmington^ 3fass.^ Nov. 14. 

I then wrote to the editor a polite note asking him 
if I could have the privilege of replying to himself and 
others, in the " Farmer." His answer to this note is 
here inserted : 

Boston, Dec. 3, 1859. 

Dear Sir : In reply to your note of Nov. 27, I 
have to say that the publishers as well as myself, are 
obliged to you for the articles you have sent us that 
have been published, as well as for those not yet in 
print. Those, also, will be published. The reason of 
delay is, that I am always crowded with communica- 
tions, and must observe a sort of miller rule, — first 
come first served, — though regard is paid to the impor- 
tance of the subject, and to seasonableness. 

I have given two articles in to-day's paper in reply 
to yours, and have others on hand, so you have the sat- 
isfaction of seeing that you have aroused a general in- 
terest on the subject, even if they controvert your po- 
sitions. I believe, with you, that there is great loose- 
ness and uncertainty in most of our farm operations, 
but do not believe that lands judiciously cultivated, are 
ever cultivated at a loss, only in cases of casualty. 

Your articles will appear in due time, mixed up with 
those who arc paying you some attention. 1 think 
great good will come out of the discussion, if not carried 



THE AGRICULTURAL PRESS. 163 

too far. I am obliged to make up a variety for each 
paper. Very truly and cordially yours, 

Simon Brown. 

The editor, it seems, evades the direct answer to my 
question, but says " they are much obliged to me," &c. 
— thinks I am doing a good deal of good in " arousing 
public attention," and " my articles will appear from 
time to time," &c. — observing a sort of "miller rule." 
We shall see. In the "Farmer " of Dec. 3d, the edi- 
tor, in a short note to correspondents, says : 

" We have received several seasonable and valuable 
articles, which we shall soon find room for ; and while 
we express our obligations to the attentive and intelli- 
gent correspondents of the Farmer^ for their numerous 
favors, we would say their circle is constantly increas- 
ing, and that in order to give a hearing to all, it be- 
comes necessary for each to be as concise as the nature 
and importance of his subject will pei*mit. The critics 
are after Mr. Pinkham with a sha/i'p stick ; he has sent 
us other important queries, and will not be alarmed at 
any liair treatment, though it might be a httle severe." 

Up to this time I had nowhere said a single word 
by which the editor might infer or presume, that I was 
anxious to call him or any one else out in discussing 
the several subjects which had been mooted. I knew 
that the reverse of what the Agricultural press taught 
in regard to Agriculture, was true. I thought I saw 
a systematic and well-contrived plan, having its centres 
in the great cities of the country, to defraud Agricul- 
ture of a suitable reward for labor bestowed. I ex- 
pected that a strong effort would be made to controvert 
my position, or cut me off entirely from an expression 



164 FARMING AS IT IS. 

of my tliouglits through the channel or medium to 
which I have referred. After the editor had tried his 
own hand to effect this purpose, he then calls on any 
one to come to the rescue, saying they are after him 
with a " sharp stick," and the treatment may be a little 
severe. For nearly six months, almost every number 
of the " Farmer " has had something to say on what I 
wrote ; and in some of the papers, as many as five or 
six articles, written either by the editor or some of his 
correspondents, in reply to me, many of them, how- 
ever, either entirely, or in part, agreeing with my 
views. 

And now, although I have not had the privilege of 
saying a single word for several months, yet I submit 
to the readers of the " Farmer " if my position has not 
rather gained, and stands better before the people than 
when I commenced. 

My first articje to the "Farmer" was published Aug. 
20th, (1859,) the object of which was to see if the 
"Farmer " would entertain an honest avowal of antag- 
onistic views. This article was replied to by a friend 
from Springfield. As I have not his name, I cannot 
give his article entire ; but my reply to him, which is 
here submitted, wiU convey something of his mode of 
reasoning. 

"IS THERE AKY PROFIT IN FxlRMING?" 

Mr. Editor : It wiU, without doubt, be recollected 
by many of your readers that I wrote an article, which 
you were kind enough to publish in the Farmer of Aug. 
20th, 1859, with the above caption. The position which 



THE AGEICULTUEAL PRESS. 165 

I took in that article will also be recollected, viz., that 
farming in New England is not a paying business ; that 
the public, and even the farmers themselves, to a large 
extent, are deceived in the matter. This I undertook 
to show with what logic I possessed ; also, I gave some 
statistics, and a few quotations from what I deemed 
good authority, to prove my position. 

Now, I must in candor say, that when I penned that 
article, I supposed it would be replied to, if at all, by 
just that class of farmers of whom I spoke in the arti- 
cle, who, " having money to spend," &c., &c., consider 
this as a good business. 

It wiU, perhaps, be as well for me to state in the out- 
set, that I intend in this article to reply to my " Spring- 
field " friend, who undertook, in the Farmer of Oct. 
22d, to review the article to which I have above re- 
ferred, and to show that farming is profitable. 

It is an old saying, and a very good one, that " cir- 
cumstances alter cases." As this is one of the "cases" 
that " circumstances " have altered, and as but a very 
small proportion of the farmers can be located in a 
thrifty and growing city, comfortably, pleasantly, and, 
for the sake of the argument, and for nothing else, pro- 
fitably if you please, at farming, Springfield is situat- 
ed on the banks of the Connecticut Eiver, in Hamp- 
den County, in this State. It is a city of some 1 5,000 
inhabitants, and is at this day making great progress 
in wealth and population. The AVestern Kailroad 
passes through this place ; the United States Armory 
is here located, which adds largely to the thrift of the 
city, also factories of various kinds are in successful 
operation. Further, the soil on the banks of this river 
is well adapted to the growing of tobacco, and large 
quantities of it is put to this use. Here, also, land is 
sold hj the foot. Is it necessary for me to look any 
further for the solution of the argument of my friend 
"J. A. A." ? What say you, brother farmers, all over 
New England ? If your ancestors had left you the 
broad acres in a great and populous city, how mon- 



166 FARMING AS IT IS. 

strously " profitable " farming would seem. Do store 
and other bills accumulate, and the crops come in light? 
Have you become worn out by hard toil, and the doc- 
tor's bill looks you in the face ? Have the wife or the 
little ones been on the sick list, too ? Or, is it neces- 
sary to send the boy to college ? A few corner lots 
will harmonize the whole What a beautiful thing 
farming is ! 

Now, Mr. Editor, I suppose I must take up your cor- 
respondent's article, somewhat systematically, and treat 
of it as he goes along. In the first paragraph, he says 
the writer "• must be located in a very ill-favored por- 
tion of the country." In the old town of Chelmsford, 
joining Lowell, the second city in New England in 
wealth, population and enterprise, (saving tobacco, — 
we don't grow the weed here, we profess to be a moral 
people,} is the writer's residence. Of the capabilities 
of the town in the Agricultural line, perhaps I can give 
it in no better way than in the language of one of our 
most distinguished citizens. Dr. Bartlett, in a lecture 
before the Agricultural Society of this town, said, " that 
in his opinion, not a farmer in town was getting a liv- 
ing, without he had either fruit or wood to sell." Now, 
although Chehusford produces a large supply of both 
of these articles, and there are but few farmers who 
have neither to sell, so that on the whole, this may com- 
pare favorably with most farming towns, yet, with all 
the privileges that this has over most places, even here 
it is up-hill work. The truth of the matter is just 
here — that no farmer could, for any considerable length 
of time, sustain his position, were it not for the outside 
helps that he is constantly obliged to resort to. He 
must have capital, and it is folly to think to farm with- 
out it. Then, this capital is dead property, for with 
this, he has to combine a larger amount of labor and 
economy than Avould give him a better living at many 
of the trades that are in vogue, that are much more 
easily attained than to know Iioav to farm. One of two 
things is true ; the farmer has to relin(|uish all hopes of 



THE AGRICULTURAL PRESS. 167 

any per cent, on his capital, or throw away his labor to 
get a fair per cent, on his investment. Does any one 
believe that a man can take a farm and its appendages 
entirely on credit, and pay his interest, and in the 
course of time, free himself from his liabilities, and re- 
tain the farm ? This is what a large proportion of those 
engaged in other pursuits are constantly doing. 

If my friend " J. A. A." will be kind enough to stop 
guessing, and go into the figures, the facts, as they ac- 
tually exist, and from these obtain or arrive at his con- 
clusions, he will be quite as likely to be correct. This 
guess work should be abandoned, and facts and figures 
should take its place. Noav if " J. A. A." has made a 
fortune at farming, or any considerable portion of one, 
he has the ability to tell how it is done. This would 
do much to establish his position. In this State, there 
are 36,000 farms, and allowing two men to each farm, 
would give 70,000 farmers, equalling in numbers all 
other trades. K " J. A. A." will find one solitary in- 
dividual (Springfield included,) out of this army of 
fai'mers who has for a series of years made fair me- 
chanic's wages over and above a reasonable per cent, on 
his investment, at farming, then I shall learn something 
that I never before have seen. And, unless he can do 
this, and much more, then his whole argument falls to 
the ground. 

Perhaps I can illustrate the position I take, in no 
better way than by relating an anecdote, which was re- 
cently told me. A friend of mine who takes a similar 
view of the matter with me, said " he had been several 
times opposed in his view by a stout and rugged old 
farmer who instanced Iws own case to prove that the 
business was lucrative." " Well," said my friend, 
" you have made money, have you ? " " Yes, I have 
done well, and I know it is a good business. But, what 
are you figuring about ? " "I was merely reckoning 
up to see how much you have made." " I guess I 
know how much I have made without your figuring." 
" Weil, well, I merely wanted to sec ; figures, you 



168 FARMING AS IT IS. 

know, wont lie." "Well, how do you make it?" 
" Do you want I should tell you ? " " Certainly, you 
can't alter it." " AVell, then, if I have got it right, you 
lack $60,000 of having made a living." " How do you 
make that out ? " " You say you had so much (show- 
ing him the figures) left you ? " " Yes." " You are 
now worth so much ? " " Yes." " Well, then, if you 
had put your money at interest when you came in pos- 
session of it, and kept it there, and got your own Hving 
since, you Avould have been worth what I told you." 

Now if my Springfield friend will furnish the evi- 
dence of what he says, and will truthfully make it ap- 
pear that this is " profitable," and that farmers are the 
most independent people in the world, it is all I ask 
for. * I think, however, that where we mainly difier is 
in this — he has one class of farmers in view, and I 
another. It is the poor farmer whose position I am 
speaking of, and not these city folks who farm for 
amusement, without regard to the cost. 

Again, friend " A." says : " I suspect that Mr. P., 
having probably been employed in other pursuits before 
enQ;a2;insf in Ao;riculture ' some seven or eioht years ' 
since, may possibly be lacking in Agricultural experi- 
ence, so necessary to success, and has had the misfor- 
tune to locate in a bad situation, both combining, per- 
haps, to render him sick of his new vocation, and con- 
sequently he looks upon the dark side." Here is more 
guess work, at which friend " A " has been about as 
successful as he is in guessing at the " profit " of fai-m- 
ing. The truth is, 1 am not " sick " of farming, nor 
ha\ e I " located in a bad situation." All that I want, 
is, that the truth and right may prevail. When I see 
all other classes of men making a living by their busi- 
ness, and generally much more, (which I do not object 
to,) I am led to inquire how is it with the business that 
sustains all others ? I would not say a word, did not I 
believe that there is a remedy for the wrongs that I 
am speaking of. But, it is no use to say a word about 
a remedy till we understand our position, and if things 
are all right, then let them remain. 



THE AGRICULTURAL PRESS. 1G9 

Again, " a good cow should give four quarts at early 
milking, at least, or eight quarts per day, through the 
greater part of the year, and even more than this, a 
considerable portion of the time." I believe a cow 
may be kept well, in most localities, for about forty-five 
dollars per year, and should yield an average of six 
quarts of milk per day. The milkmen generally get 
from four to six cents a quart for milk, and, conse- 
quently, the farmer should not receive less tlian three 
or three and a half cents for his milk, at his door." 
Now this is all guess work again, and you have not 
given a single fact to substantiate a word of what you 
have said. A cow that gives milk, requires 2. J per 
cent, on her live weight per day of good English hay 
or its equivalent to sustain her position. Is this keep- 
ing her for forty-five dollars per year ? The farmers 
have been selling their milk for eighteen cents per can 
in this county, and in New Hampshire, on the line of 
the railroads, this last summer. The cans hold, Massa- 
chusetts measure, from nine to eleven quarts. Is this 
" from three to three and a half cents per quart ? " No 
supposition or guess work here. Now, if friend " A." 
can put these items together, and figure up a " profit," 
I am thinking it would take a larger city than Spring- 
field to hold him. 

T. J. PiNKHAM. 

Chelmsford, Mass., JSfov. 7, 1859. 

The following is an article which I wrote in reply to 
the comments of the editor upon my articles, and which 
he declined to publish. At the time I wrote this arti- 
cle, I had before me his letter, on page 162. 

Mr. Editor : — In discussing this matter of farm- 
ing, I presume it would be well to lay down some gen- 
eral rules, upon which all are wilhng to stand, and 
from this stand-point take our observations ; for if the 
premises are not well established in the commence- 
ment, we shall strive in vain to arrive at correct con- 
clusions. 15 



170 FARMING AS IT IS. 

I presume that upon this point there is no contro- 
versy, — that the pursuit of agriculture is useful and 
important^ therefore should he remunerative and hon- 
orable ; also, that those who follow this business for 
a livelihood should be as well recompensed as those 
who live by any other branch of human industry. 

I wish to consider that we agree upon this brief 
premise, and shall now proceed to estabhsh what I 
have previously written by facts and arguments which 
I think are incontrovertible ; also, to show that those 
who have taken up their pens to controvert my position, 
and those who sympathize with them, are doing great 
mischief to the farmers of our country. 

To the farmers, I want to say, that they must learn 
to conquer their prejudices and open their eyes, that 
they can distinguish the difference between cunning 
and friendship I A merchant said to me the other 
day, " We merchants are a mighty shrewd people, all 
smooth and fair on the outside, but eyes were made to 
see, and ears to hear." 

In the Farmer of Nov. 12th, the editor refers to the 
" Transactions of the Massachusetts Society for the 
Promotion of Agriculture " in 1800, (going back some 
ways for " Young America,") to elicit evidence to 
controvert my position. In these "Transactions," he 
finds, among others, this question : 

" How many days labor of a man are usually em- 
ployed on an acre of Indian corn, including the getting 
in of all the stover and stripping the husks from the 
ear?'; 

This ends the business ; the corn is husked, and 
there it is in a pile on the barn floor, if they had barns 
in those days, and if it was like the corn that I raised 
this year, (1859,) it would not be worth much if it 
laid there long. The editor says that " No question 
among the ffty which they propounded brought so 
many widely different answers as this," some setting it 
as low as 10 days to do this work, others as high as 
32, the average being 17|^ days. 



THE AGEICULTURAL PRESS. 171 

Now the candid reader will, by a careful perusal of 
this article, (p. 157,) see at once that I did not under- 
take to cultivate this acre of corn at all, but merely to 
show the public what it costs to raise corn as it is 
usually raised in this and other New England States. 
I know very well that a man can hurry over an acre 
of corn on our 2)lai7is land with, a little less labor than 
I have allowed. But no one who has ever been so far 
from home that his " mother has discovered that he 
was out," need be told that the whole of New Eng- 
and is not a sand-bank, and that ploughing and hoe- 
ing is not always a desirable recreation. 

Many fields of corn in this and other New England 
States cannot be well prepared for the seed with a less 
amount of labor than I have allowed for the whole cul- 
tivation of this crop. Now, about the amount of corn. 
It is said I have got it far too low. Upon this point, 
perhaps, it will be well to let others speak. 

According to the United States census in 1850, the 
average yield of Indian corn in all the States, to the 
acre, was l%y bushels, a small fraction over nineteen 
bushels to the acre. This was in the whole United 
States. In five of the New England States (Rhode 
Island is not given,) it was 32 bushels to the acre. 
This was according to the last census, viz : Massachu- 
setts 31, Vermont 32, Connecticut 40, Maine 27, New 
Hampshire 30. Does this look like trying to mislead 
the people ? or does it look as though I meant to state 
the thing about as it was ? I do not go back sixty 
years, as my friend the editor did, but take the most 
recent statistics we have, and regret that we have none 
more recent. 



CHAPTEE VII. 

THE AGRICULTURAL PRESS, CONTINUED, AND IM 
PORTANT CORRESPONDENCE. 

The Editor of the New England Farmer— Vote of the Board of Agri 
culture — Ed. Emerson, of HolHs, N. H.,and his Article — Population, 
Inventory, Business and Business Capital of Hollis — Wages of Hired 
Help — Threshing and Husking Corn — An Article on Milk Raising — 
Questions for Farmers' Clubs — An Article in Defence of the Writer — 
"Farming Unprofitable," by H. C. Merriam — Important Sugges- 
tions — Valuable Correspondence — Letters from Hon. Simon Brown, 
Hon. Richard S. Fay, and Hon. George S. Boutwell — Farmers should 
Keep the Figures — The Tailor and the Farmer — The Barre Corres- 
pondent — Concord River Meadows — Unjust Taxation — Dr. Loring's 
Letter — Farming in New Braintree — The Chinese and their Agricul- 
ture—The Traders. 

After the publication of my article of Nov. 12th 
in the Farmer^ and the editor had called on the faith- 
ful to come to the rescue, advising them that they need 
not be particular about the " treatment," as " others 
had spoken sharply," and come with " sharp sticks," 
as much as to say, our " craft is in danger," and he 
must be put down. As soon, however, as the editor 
saw that the current was setting in my favor, and he 
had got more than he bargained for, he softened down 
in his ovm language, refused to publish anything more 
from me, unless it come up to his idea of policy, and 
from that day to this has had to fight hard to stay the 



THE AGRICULTURAL PRESS. 173 

current of public opinion. Soon after the publication 
of the article to which I have referred, the Board of 
Ao-riculture (the editor being on the Board) called 
up the subjects there presented, discussed them, and 
agreed unanimously (save one, Mr. Brooks, of Prince- 
ton,) that my positions and estimates were correct. 
Has the public ever, from that day to this, been ap- 
prised of the action of the Board in this particular ? 
If so, I have nowhere seen it. If what I then said 
was true, why seek to cover it up, or stifle investiga- 
tion ? Although the action of the Board is often the 
subject of public comment, and their doings are pub- 
lished in their journals and reports, yet this vote, and 
their action, has not been so treated. I presume the 
intelligent reader needs no reasons for this from me in 
this connection. 

In order to give the reader an idea of the way that 
some of the correspondents to the Farmer talk about 
farming, I shall here publish entire an article written 
by one of the editor's friends, and a man in whom he 
has a good deal of confidence, and takes a great satis- 
faction to himself that he is not a " fancy farmer, or 
of giving undue credence to books." If, in the edit- 
or's reference to " books," he meant the " Bible," no 
one would presume to doubt a single word he has said 
on that. 

16* 



174 FARMING AS IT IS. 



IS FARMIXG PROFITABLE? 

" Mr. Editor : — I have just read in the JV. E, 
Farmer of Nov. 12th, the article signed 'T. J. Pink- 
ham, Chehnsford,' on the profits of tanning, or rather 
on the losses of farming. I am surprised that any one 
living in the counties of Middlesex and Worcester, 
Mass., or Hillsborough, N. H., should write such an 
article, when the farmers in these counties are the 
most wealthy of any part of the population. 

There are are forty or fifty farmers in the town of 
Hollis, N. H., worth from $3,000 to $15,000, or more, 
and I have known most of them from the time they 
took possession of their farms, either by purchase or 
from their fathers. I think at least two-thirds of them 
either owed, or had to pay out to heirs or support the 
old folks, to at least two-thirds of the value of their 
farms at the time they took possession of them. 

In almost every case where a young man has bought 
a farm, and has been temperate and industrious, and 
had tolerable health, he has made money. Nor have 
these farmers been miserly or mean, either with them- 
selves, their families, or the public. They have most 
of them good, comfortable dwellings, well painted in- 
side and out, for their families, good barns for their 
stock, and sheds, &c., for wood, carriages, grain, &c., 
most of which they have either built or repaired since 
they came into possession. They educate their chil- 
dren, and spend money for proper purposes as freely 
as any other class of citizens. If farming is such poor 
business, how have these men supported their families, 
paid their debts, repaired their houses and barns, or 
built new ones, and lent money, taken stocks, &c. ? 
Could they do it by raising corn at a loss of $10 each 
acre, or calves at a loss of $16 on each calf ? 

Let us look at his estimate below on the cost of 
raising an acre of corn, viz : 



THE AGEICULTUKAL PRESS. 175 

One Acre of Com. Dr. 

May 10, Two men, two yoke oxen and plow one day $4 25 

" 15, One man, four oxen and cart one day hauling ma- 
nure ^ 25 

«* 15, Ten loads manure 10 00 

" 16, One man one day, yoke oxen and harrow half day, 

spreading manure and harrowing 1 75 

May 17, Man, horse and boy k day furrowing 75 

" 18, Man and boy one day planting, $1 50, seed 25. . 1 75 

" 19, To putting up line, tfec ;•• 25 

June 6, Two men, horse and plow cultivating and hoemg 2 50 

" 6, To replanting and ashing 2 00 

" 25, To hoeing and cultivating 2 50 

July 10, To pulling weeds 50 

Sept. 10, To two men cutting stalks and stooking do 2 00 

" 25, To carting stalks to barn, &c 50 

Oct. 12, To harvesting 2 00 

" 13, To husking and taking care of butts 2 00 

" 13, To interest on land, capital and taxes 3 00 

" 13, To fencing and rents of barn and corn-house 3 00 

Dee. 15, To shelling and marketing corn 5 00 

$47 00 

Acre of Com. CV. 

Dec. 15, By 30 bushels shelled com sold $30 00 

" 15, By 6 bushels ears soft corn sold 2 00 

" 15, By stover and pumpkins 5 00 

$37 00 
Net loss on crop $10 00 

Now, our land, (upland,) must be broken up, 
whether we raise corn or lay down immediately to 

grass. r. 1 1 • 

Not over one-third of the cost of breaking up 
should be charged to the first crop. The manure, if 
spread, not over one-fourth should be charged to the 

corn. 

Few replant or ash, and as to pullmg weeds, you 
had better let them alone than pull them in a dry time. 
A boy will cut the stalks for half the price, and your 
men will husk it out m an evening, if good com. 



170 FARMING AS IT IS. 

Shelling the corn is much too high. I have had fifty 
bushels threshed out in a day by one man several times. 
Now let us see : 

1^ of the cost of first plowing to the first crop $1 42 

y^ of the manure and hauling , 3 31 

Harrowing, &c 1 75 

Furrowing, jjlanting, seed and line 2 75 

First and second hoeing 5 00 

Cutting stalks and transplanting 4 50 

Husking corn 1 00 

Interest, &c 3 00 

Threshing out corn 1 00 

$22 73 

All this help has been called one dollar per day. 
Help hired by the month, for six months, does not 
average over 68 cents per day, and this help, besides 
doing the work set down in the above list, is expected 
to get up in the morning, make the fires, feed the hogs, 
milk the cows, feed what stock may be at the barn, 
and cut wood, or work in the garden the rest of the 
time till breakfast, and milk and do the other chores 
at night — well nigh enough to pay the board. But 
call it 75 cents per day — three-quarters of $22.73 is 
$17.05. Allowing his estimate of $37.00 sold, the cost 
that should be charged to the corn is $17.05. Profit, 
$10.95. 

I consider corn one of the best crops raised ; wheat, 
oats and grass follow it better than they do potatoes. 

If asked how our farmers had contrived to pay for 
their farms, build, paint and blind their houses, have 
money to let, and stock in corporations, — I should 
answer the question by the above estimate. If ' T. J. P.' 
can account for it in any other way, I should like to 
have him. Ed. Emerson. 

Hollis, Nov. 14, 1859. 



" Eemarks." — [By Mr. Brown, editor of the Far- 
mer.~\ — " Thank you, Mr. Emerson, we have no doubt 
sreat good will come out of this discussion. Mr. 



THE AGRICULTURAL TRESS. 177 

Emerson's name will be recognized by many readers 
as that of a frequent correspondent to these columns, 
— but for the gratification of those who do not know 
him, we will say that he is quite largely engaged in 
farming, working with his own hands and directing his 
affairs in person. No one can justly charge him with 
being a fancy farmer, or of giving undue credence to 
books." 

The writer would particularly invite the attention 
of Mr. Emerson and the editor of the Farmer to the 
following extract, taken from a rather ancient book, 
and recommend that they give it due " credence : " 

Thou slialt have no other god before me. 

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any like- 
ness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth 
beneath, or that is in the water under the earth : Thou shalt not 
bow down thyself to them, nor serve them : for I the Lord thy 
God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon 
the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that 
hate me ; and showing mercy unto thousands of those that love 
me, and keep my commandments. 

Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for 
the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou 
labor, and do all thy work: Eut the seventh day is the sabbath 
of the Lord thy God : in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor 
thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, 
nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in 
six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in 
them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed 
the sabljath day, and hallowed it. 

Honor thy father and thy mother : that thy days may be long 
upon the land v^hich the Lord thy God giveth thee. 

Thou shalt not kill. 

Thou shalt not commit adultery. 

Thou shalt not steal. 

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. 

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet 
thy neighbor's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, 
nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's. 



178 FARMIXa AS IT IS. 

I will now leave this article to speak for itself, after 
saying a single word. If farming is as good business 
as Mr. Emerson tells about in liis town, wliy do not the 
people make more progress ? Certainly there are but 
few towns but what would compare favorably with this, 
either in population, enterprise or wealth. In 1855, the 
population was 1,293. The total inventory was $597,- 
992. All the active capital of the town was $7,118. 
The business of the town consists of 2 stores, 4 carpen- 
ter's shops, 11 saw and grist mills, 5 blacksmith shops, 
3 wheelwright shops, and 16 cooper's shops. According 
to my friend's statement, his " forty to fifty farmers " 
must monopolize nearly all the wealth of the town, 
and that does not show that labor meets a fair reward. 
The mechanical business of the town is considerable, 
but their whole capital is extremely limited. Now one 
or two things, it seems, must be true ; either the farm- 
ers are not that liberal people my friend talks about, or 
the industry or morals of the people is at fault. 

And then my friend must be extremely hard with 
his help, according to his own statement. Here is 
what he says : " Help hired by the month does not 
average over 58 cents per day, and this help, besides 
doing the work set down in the list, is expected to get 
up in the morning, make the fires, feed the hogs, milk 
the cows, feed what stock may be at the barn, and cut 
wood or work in the garden the rest of the time till 
breakfast, and milk and do the chores at night — well 
nigh enough to pay the board." With a little altera- 
tion, this would make a splendid " nursery hymn," 



THE AGRICULTUEAL PRESS. 179 

which have not generally been supi^osed to be true in 
fact. However, if all this only pays a part of a man's 
board, most men would have to hire a man part of the 
time (at least) to pay a full board. Then he commits 
a great error in husking. A smart man will husk 
two baskets in an hour, or the sixty-six baskets in 
thirty-three hours, which he calls an evening's work, 
or one dollar, if done for hire. 

These are the statements that Governor Brown en- 
dorses. What do the fiirmers think of them ? 

Here is an article on milk raising, which any child 
can reckon up and see how profitable the business is. 
This was published in the Farmer^ Dec. 17, 1859. 

A PLAIN QUESTION IN ARITHMETIC. 

Mr. Editor : — Suppose a farmer buys a cow on 
the first day of April, weighing 1000 pounds, and six 
years old, for fifty dollars. On the next day after the 
purchase she drops a calf, which takes all the milk she 
gives daring this month but one quart per day, say 
twenty-five quarts, which is sold for two cents per 
quart. During this month she consumes two per cent, 
on her Aveight of English hay, which is worth fifteen 
dollars per ton, and two quarts of Indian meal per day, 
at one dollar per bushel. On the first day of IMay, 
her calf is sold for six dollars. During this month, 
(jNIay) she gives nine quarts of milk per day, which is 
sold for two cents per quart, and consumes hay and 
meal same as last month. On the first day of June, 
she is turned to pasture, which is worth eight cents 
per day, and increases her milk to ten quarts per day, 
which is sold same as last month. 

On the next month, July, the same facts exist as 
last month, except she falls oflf in ler milk one quart 



180 FARMING AS IT IS. 

per clay. August she falls off two quarts of milk 
per day from July, and consumes tv/enty-five pounds 
of corn fodder daily at five dollars per ton, In addi- 
tion to her pasturage. The next month, September, 
her corn fodder is increased to fifty pounds dally, and 
lier milk is reduced to six quai-ts each day ; her pas- 
turage is also reduced half. During October she runs 
n fall feed, or mowing fields, has nothing else, and her 
milk is reduced to four quarts per day, which is sold 
for four cents per quart. The cost of feed this month, 
October, the same as pasturage, eight cents per day. 
In November, she still runs in the field, but is put up 
nights and fed with ten pounds of good hay and two 
quarts of fine feed, at eighty cents per bushel, each 
day. Her pasturage Is reduced to four cents daily 
this month, November, milk selling for the same as 
last month and reduced to three quarts daily. From 
the first of December to the first of April, she is fed 
wholly at the barn, and consumes ten pounds of good 
hay, one peck roots, at twenty cents per bushel, and 
twenty pounds of meadow hay, or corn fodder, at five 
dollars per ton, daily. In this month, December, she 
gives two quarts milk per day, and In January, one 
quart, and dries up entirely the first of February. All 
her milk from the first of October has been sold for 
four cents per quart. 

This, in my judgment, is a fair sample of milk rais- 
ing in this vicinity. Now I should like to have your 
correspondents in different milk-raising districts reckon 
this up, and let us know whether the farmer has made 
or lost by the operation, and how much. Also, how 
this corresponds with the business in their locality. 
Evidently, there are some minor considerations which 
I have purposely left out of the account. In order to 
see how people reckon in this important branch of 
human Industry. Although milk, to some extent, is 
one of the necessaries of life, yet, if it is sold below 
its cost, the evil that is done to the community is far 



THE AGRICULTURAL PRESS. 181 

greater than the good. At some future time I intend 
to answer this, (with your permission, Mr. Editor,) 
myself. In the meantime I shoukl like to hear from 
some of your correspondents on the subject. 

Perhaps I ought to state here that I have avoided 
in this calculation the fractions of a cent which often 
go into the prices of this article, but they will not vary 
the account much ; at any rate will not make it any 
more favorable to the raiser of milk in this section than 
I have given it. For instance, one farmer told me that 
he sold his milk through the first or spring and sum- 
mer season for two and an eighth cents per quart, and 
had contracted this fall and winter at three and a fourth 
cents. However, I prefer the calculation made as I 
have reckoned it ; holding that it is not very material 
whether we make a very large or a smaller loss in the 
business, as it in the end has about the same effect, 
whether we dwindle along a whole lifetime to waste 
our effects or be smart and find the bottom of the hill 
at an earlier period. 

Many people seem to apprehend that it is of but a 
little consequence whether they make a loss in the sale 
of their products or not, inasmuch as they can go 
ahead and appear to be doing something ; as one man 
remarked, " somebody will get the benefit of it." But 
let me say to my friend, and all who take this view of 
the matter, that you forget about those poor neighbors 
and their families who have been less fortunate than 
you, and who depend on their own efforts for a liveli- 
hood, but cannot go into this branch of human indus- 
try, except at a loss, on account of the ruinous compe- 
tition, wdiich only can be prosecuted by those who 
have an income equal to this drain upon their re- 
sources. 

T. J. PiNKHAM. 

Chelmsford, Mass., Nov., 1859. 
" Remarks." — [By the editor of the Farmer.'] — 
" Our correspondent is determined to probe this busi- 
16 



182 FAEMING AS IT IS. 

ness of farming, as a business on which loss and gain 
is concerned, to the quick. He is doing the farmers 
a good service, and is welcome to our columns." 

Why did'nt you stick to that, Mr. Brown ? 

On Dec. 31, the following and last article was pub- 
lished. Notwithstanding, that just two weeks before, 
the editor said I was doing a good work, and should 
have entire liberty to his columns ; yet it seems that 
the following were home questions, and it was easier 
to satisfy his conscience than his purse. 

My object in penning this article was, to break the 
ice for a thorough investigation of the object of all leg- 
islation upon the farmers' interests, and the effect it 
has upon the people. The reader can read it, and if 
he desii*es to object to it, I hope he will have the priv- 
ilege to express his thoughts to the fullest extent. 

SUBJECTS FOli DISCUSSION IN FARMER'S CLUBS. 

Mr. Editor : As I see that an effort is being made 
by the State to institute and promote Agricultural 
Clubs throughout the Commonwealth ; and as I have 
known such clubs to be at a loss to find subjects pro- 
motive of their interest and the general good to discuss, 
I thought I would send you tor publication in the 
Fanner a few of the many questions in which the 
farmers should take deep thought, and consult together 
at the present time. 

Has a man a rio'ht to follow a losino- business ? 

Are any of the " Statute Laws " of this State op- 
pressive and degrading to the farmer ? 

Is the common system of marketing promotive of the 
fai*mer's interests ? 

Have the farmei-s a right to combine, or act in uni- 
son, to promote their interests ? 



THE AGRICULTURAL PRESS. 183 

Is it a public benefit to sell farm products below 
their cost? 

Is Xew England farming at the present time condu- 
cive to health ? 

Would a change of thought and effort among Agri- 
culturists, from how to obtain a large surplus, to the 
idea of a sure profit, result in universal good to all 
classes ? 

Can most of the evils of society be traced directly to 
the improfitablcncss of farming ? 

I want to say at some time, and perhaps I might as 
well say it now, and in this connection as well as in any 
other, that, as a citizen of Massachusetts, and a farmer, 
and my interests and rights being inseparable from 
those of my brother farmers, I am opposed noAv and 
forever, to all State effort or State aid, to promote, as 
it is thought by some, the farming interest. I can see 
nothing in it but "ewY," and that continually. "Let 
every tub stand upon its own bottom," is perhaps 
not a very genteel expression, yet it conveys the 
idea. For half a century our good and ever indul- 
gent mother, the State, has fondled and caressed 
the farming interests, till she has made fools of one 
portion of the people, and nearly bankrupted another. 

Repeal all laws that are antagonistic to the farmer's 
good, and dry up the pap which has flowed from the 
treasury of the State for a quarter of a century, and 
in five years, if the farmers of the old Bay State don't 
show signs of life and prosperity, whicli«rthey never 
before dreamed of, then write me down as incompetent 
to judge of the natural course of cause and effect. 
" Where the carrion is, there also will be found the 
vulture." Let the course which is fast gaining ground 
in the State, be continued for another quarter of a 
century, and if a " child " that is not easy to manage, 
but Avill be extremely troublesome, is not fastened upon 
us, then I am no judge. If the State has got any 
stray change in its huge pocket, that it can find no bet- 



13-1 FARMING AS IT IS. 

ter use for, let it pay its debts, and wean her offspring 
before it has the power to kick her over. 

Let the farmers put on and wear a clean dicky, be- 
come more familiar with the slate and pencil, and learn 
the difference betAvecn profit and the prime cost of an 
article, and in five years not a man among- them could 
be found who would be willing to acknowledge that 
they were ever under cjuardiansMp to the State. Fur- 
ther, let the lawyers, doctors, preachers, and the soft- 
hand gentry generally, observe the familiar adage, 
" shoemaker, stick to thy last," and if they happen to 
feel the need of anything in our line, and have got any 
loose change in their trowsers pocket, and will call 
around and be civil about it, they can be accommo- 
dated. T. J. PiNKHAM. 
Chelmsford, Mass., Dec. 19, 1859. 

This article was written in the fall of '59, and I sub- 
mit to the candid reader if, in the two acts of 1860, in 
regard to the State buying up the Concord Eiver 
Meadows, and the Pleuro humbug, cannot be traced 
with an unerring hand some of the warnings that are 
of importance to, not only the people of this State, but 
of the Country, there hinted at. 

The excitement and damage done the farmers of the 
country, by the extra session of the Legislature, will 
soon pass away and be by many forgotten, but not so 
with the act in regard to the River Meadows. This is 
private property, owned by individuals, and in which 
the public have no more interest than any other prop- 
erty of a private nature. The wrong consists in taxing 
the pubhc for sectional and private interests, and estab- 
lishing a dangerous and unprincipled precedent. 



THE AGRICULTURAL PRESS. 185 

There is one little article that Avas published in the 
"Farmer," that seems to me to be plain common sense, 
and without comment, I here insert it. 

THE CORN AND OTHER CROPS. 

You say, in your last paper, that the critics are after 
Mr. Pinkham with a sharp stick, relative to his com- 
munication of Nov. 12th. I have read, with interest, 
what Mr. P. said, and I think his estimate nearest to 
the cost of producing an acre of corn than those cute 
men who have as yet criticised his estimate ; take, for 
instance, Mr. Emerson, who hires his men so that the 
cost of the day's work is but fifty-eight cents per day. 
I would like to give more than one-half of that sum to 
board my hired help ; I should think I was evading 
some of the commands of the good Book, vvhere it 
says, " the laborer is worthy of his hire," if I paid him 
only one dollar for husking sixty-six bushel ears of 
corn. Now for Mr. P.'s estimate ; he only charged ten 
dollars for ten loads of manure, which four oxen hauled 
out ; these oxen wiU draw out, easily, one-half cord 
that is worth five dollars per cord, in any farmer's yard, 
therefore, if as some say, one-half of the value of the 
manure is left in the ground, he has not charged too 
much for it. Mr. E. objects to the charge of plowing, 
and seems to intimate that part of it should be reckoned 
as improvement of the land, if the land was well laid 
down to grass ; for myself, I should rather have it, than 
to have it plowed ; for the amount of manure usually 
put on by farmers, will do more good as top-dressing, 
than otherwise applied. 

In answer to the question put by those who attempt 
to show up Mr. P., by asking how do the farmers pay 
for their farms, paint their buildings, &c., I will say, on 
most farms, there arc either wood, rock, or somctliing 
else, Avhich the I'armer in the winter carries to market, 
which will bring the cash ; if not, how does he do it ? 
Five acres of corn will take the time of the entire sea- 
IG* 



186 FARMING AS IT IS. 

son to cultivate, so the best judges say, viz., 100 days ; 
and he gets in profit, eighty-five dollars to do all these 
things with, according to the estimates of the other wri- 
ters. How many years would it take to pay the in- 
terest, taxes, and fijr the farm, if he paid $2000 for it, 
at the last estimate ? S. 

Gafpe Elizabeth^ Dec.^ 1859. 

Remarks. — We meant no disparagement to Mr. P. 
or his article, by our remarks. — Editor Farmer. 

In the " Farmer " of March 10, 1860, is an article 
written by H. C. Merriam, which has many good ideas 
in it, and I give it place here. 

IS FARMING PROFITABLE % 

This question is worthy of all the consideration which 
it has received ■ in the able articles published in your 
columns, and naturally leads to others equally impor- 
tant. That Agriculture is profitable, the results of 
particular crops have been relied upon as proving the 
affirmative, while it is well known that a farmer may 
raise seventy-five bushels of Indian corn per acre, and 
have many acres of it, and yet the same year lose a 
fruit crop worth three times his corn crop ; so with his 
other crops. 

In the latter days of Mr. Jeflferson, it was proposed 
to obtain an act of the Legislative Assembly of Vir- 
ginia, by which his property might be disposed of by 
a lottery, to extricate him from debts incurred by his 
generous hospitality, in entertaining almost daily a great 
number of distinijuished guests, foreign and domestic. 
An objection was made to this project, that it savored 
of gambling, and was derogatory to the fiime, and in- 
compatible with the dignity of the ex-president. This 
probably prompted Mr. Jefferson to write his essay on 
gambling, in which he says " that the farmer is the 
greatest of all gamblers." A quarter of a century ago, 



THE AGRICULTURAL PRESS. 187 

when I first read this essay, the remark was not par- 
ticuhirly noticeable, but much subsequent reflection, 
and some little observation, have convinced me that this 
remark, as most others of this great man, contains more 
truth than poetry. 

I do not beheve that forming in Massachusetts is a 
profitable business compared with other pursuits. 
Farming is a term that admits of many definitions, 
varying according to the systems of different localities, 
climat (T, soil, &c., &c. I use it as applying to the cul- 
tivation of every thing raised in this State, and fiirming 
is o-enerally profitable according to climate, natural fer- 
tihty of the soil, facihty of production, the price of 
land and labor, taxes, competition in the market, and 
the style of Hving and doing business, demanded by the 
imperious decrees of fiishion. 

Now, is farming a game of chance as declared by 
Mr. Jeiferson, or is it a pursuit in which a man can 
make as definite calculations of expenses and results as 
arc made in the sister arts ? Must the mass of farm- 
ers live as cheap as they can, and trust to God, for the 
result of their labor ? The painter, if he is master of 
his business, knows the exact cost of his- paints, the 
quantity necessary to cover a square yard, the number 
of yards to be covered, the cost of laying on the paint, 
the mar<3-in of his profits, which his capital will return, 
and how often he can turn it ; the mason, the number 
of bricks necessary for a given wall, the time required 
to lay them, the cost of labor, and the exact result of 
his operation ; the carpenter, the quantity of lumber 
necessary for a given structure, &c. So it is in regular 
and legitimate trade and commerce, with the advantage 
of insurance against shipwreck, &c., while the farmer, 
in the failure of crops, must seek his insurance in the 
declaration that " while the earth remaineth, seed time 
and harvest shall never fail." 

In the sister arts generally, skill, sound judgment, 
experience, and definite calculations, are not the sport 



188 FAKMIXG AS IT IS. 

of chance, but accomplish their purposes with almost as 
much certainty as instinct attains its ends. 

Plow is it now with the farmer ? Can he, when he 
plants his potatoes, or his orchard, with the greatest 
skill and judgment, tell anything about the result ? 
Can he hasten the completion of his job, prevent drouth 
or rain, frost or the rot ? These are things over which 
he has no control, but things controlled by a power be- 
fore which his puny wit must bow, his boasted skill 
and science become foolishness, and as fruitless as an 
iceberg. Now let a general farmer cultivate all the 
crops ; in no season will more than half of them be suc- 
cessful in Massachusetts. The rot may strike his po- 
tatoes, his carrot seed may not vegetate, his corn may 
fail, his turnijD seed, sowed the 25th of July, wet or 
dry, may not sprout till frost comes, his grass land, 
stocked down with great skill and care, may fail in 
various ways, and in no season are but a few of the 
carefully calculated results reahzed. Man sows, but 
God gives the increase. Hence that strange faith so 
characteristic of the farmer. 

Does any such uncertainty as this attend the sister 
arts ? Can any business in which man's best faculties 
are thus balBed and contracted, (other things being 
equal,) be compared with this, where the operator may 
be master both of the inception and result of his labor ? 

That Indian corn may be raised for fifty cents a 
bushel, or is more profitable than other crops, does not 
prove Agriculture, in general, profitable, for the char- 
acter of the soil limits the number of acres which can 
be ]>lantcd, and admitting that a farmer may raise 100 
bushels jier acre, the same season in which he does 
this, his loss from the failure of his oats, rye, barley, 
potatoes, hay or fruit, may be three times the value of 
his corn crop. 

That Agriculture is unprofitable, compared with 
other business in Massachusetts, is the practical judg- 
ment of farmers generally, deny it as you may, gloss it 



THE AGRICULTURAL PRESS. 189 

over as you will ; else why do so many of their sons 
desert the plough, hardly enough remaining at home to 
take care of the good old fathers and mothers ? Have 
they not seen their fathers and neighbors, hard-work- 
ing and frugal, farmers till sixty years of age, still 
relatively poor, while their relatives and equals who 
have engaged in other pursuits are rich, clad In fine 
linen, and fare sumptuously every day, with leisure to 
enjoy hfe, with means to purchase its pleasures, and 
comforts, too ? Why are farmers willing, even desir- 
ous, to have their sons quit the farm, and seek an easier 
and shorter road to fortune and hapj)Iness, than they 
have trod ? 

The truth must be told, they desire a better life for 
their children than they have had, and sigh for the 
means to put them into a position to attain it. 

The Inevitable conclusion to be drawn from this gen- 
eral desertion of Agriculture Is, that farming Is unprof- 
itable. The almighty dollar Is the moving principle, 
the stepping stone to command the blessings of life, and 
not the avoidance of hard work, but work that does 
not pay ; the condition of eminent success in all the 
arts, is honest hard work, Indomitable labor Avith the 
head and hands united. There is no other potent to 
success. Farmino; Is the most dello-htful of all occu- 
pations, where It can be pursued for its unalloyed pleas- 
ures, and not for Its dubious profits. 

Perhaps God, when he ordained that man should 
earn his bread by the sweat of his brow, designed to 
protect him from the dangers of excessive wealth, from 
that effeminancy and deterioration consequent upon 
self-indulgence and sloth, and from that debasing sla- 
very to avarice which grows with the power and facil- 
ity of accumulation. 

I admit that a man can live by farming, but how 
does he live ? liow does he dress ? what are his pleas- 
ures ? when has he leisure ? at what age can he retire 
from business, and live at case with dignity upon the 



190 FARMING AS IT IS. 

fruits of his labor ? How often can he go to the White 
Hills, to Saratoga ? when can he visit the battle-fields 
of his fathers, or the monuments of their fame, with 
his family, and have his business support it ? Trips to 
Europe, or even to the National Capitol — can he make 
them ? 

Yes, a man can live In Massachusetts by farming, 
but only by economy and self-denial, unknown and un- 
practiced in other pursuits. Take a survey of any 
common country town ; who are the rich ? Men that 
live, and not stay on the earth. They are men who 
have done something collateral to farming, traded, 
shaved notes, lumbered, &c. True, there is noAV and 
then a man with the strength and constitution of a 
giant, with a Yankee wife to match him, with mind 
enough to have been a Webster, with a will like Na- 
poleon's, who by working sixteen hours a day In culti- 
vating the earth, and selling his products, has made a 
few thousand dollars, but this man is an exception. In 
commerce, he would have been an Astor or Girard; 
in manufactures, an Abbott Lawrence ; In science, a 
Morse, Humboldt, or a Stephenson ; in law, a Mason 
or a Dexter ; in the pulpit, a Channing ; in letters, a 
Prescott or a Macauley, but he is obliged to be un- 
known to fame, and as untravelled as a Japanese. 

Now, I know a very skilful farmer who boasted that 
he made $1000 in 183G. One of his neighbors said 
that " he could prove that he lost $100. On being in- 
formed of It, he replied that " Mr. knows nothing." 

" I don't know about that," replied his friend. " Well, 
what was your investment?" "$10,000." "Well, 
the Interest on that is $300. What was your wear and 
teai% which you have not calculated ? " " About $350." 
" What was your own labor worth ? The man who 
took your place on the market wagon has $500 a year; 
you have earned as much. Set this down at $500. 
Well, your wife has worked hard, kept no girl, and 
has done all the work in your great family of hired 



THE AGRICULTURAL PRESS. 191 

men ; had she worked as hard for others, two or three 
dollars per week would be considered little enough. 
Set her work down at $150. Now, how does your ac- 
count stand ? 

Interest on investment $600.00 

Your labor 500.00 

Wear and tear 350.00 

Wife's work 150.00 

$1,600.00 
Ofifset improvements 250.00 

$1,350.00 

" Had you not gone on to the farm, you might have 
had $1,350. Instead of which, you have but $1000, 
and a net loss of $350." 

Take a survey of farmers generally in this State. 
Have they doubled their property in twenty years? 
C^ertainly not. Then they have not made six per cent, 
on their investments, and all the labor is lost. Well, 
they have reared families. What of that ? All the 
members of their families have done work enough to 
have commanded in other pursuits much more than a 
living. 

Again, compare men of like ability and habits en- 
gaged in fai'ming and the sister arts, and what is the 
result ? I know two brothers of equal education, (not 
an uncommon case,) the superior of the two inherited 
the homestead, the other went into trade in Boston and 
inherited nothing. They are both well off. The farm- 
er is worth $25,000, and the other $150,000, and has 
not done a quarter part as much hard work. Just 
such was the case with their father and uncle. Now 
the farmer, by his mere skill and labor in other ])ur- 
suits, might have been worth $30,000, for his equals in 
the vicinity have done it in the sister arts, — masons, 
carpenters, overseers and traders. I com2:)are equals in 
habits and integrity. 



192 FARMING AS IT IS. 

These facts and results are confirmed by general ob- 
servation, and are too true to be overlooked, and natu- 
rally lead to the inquiry, why is not farming in this 
State as profitable as the sister arts, and what can be 
done to make Agricidture (the nursing mother of all 
true greatness, and the most noble, elevating and pleas- 
ant of all human pursuits,) as profitable as other 
business ? 

In the New England Farmer of Dec. 24, the follow- 
ing article was published : 

IS FAMING A PROFITABLE PURSUIT? 

"Facts are stubborn things." 

"/s farming prqfitahle ? " 

Mr. Pinkham says not ; I would not say it Is the 
most profitable business, but a man can live at it, if so 
disposed. I was bred a mechanic, but left my trade 
and took hold of farming, and when I commenced was 
not worth one doUar. I paid f 4,030 for my farm, then 
had all my stock and tools to buy. I have had the 
good luck to pay for the farm, stock and tools, and 
have put on above $3,000 worth of buildings since, and 
do not owe one dollar to any man. I have made it all 
from my farm, although farm, fences, buildings and in- 
terest, have cost me over $10,000. Let it be worth 
what it may, I have paid so much, and made it from 
the farm itself. I have never been in any speculation 
but farming. 

I consider the great secret in farming is, to take hold 
of one string and puU that steadily when the wind and 
tide are against you. Keep beating, and you will gain 
some, — and when the wind shifts in your favor, you 
are all ready to sail ; then comes a good harvest. But 
the man that shifts every time the wind does, is always 
beating against wind and tide, therefoi'e he condemns 
the business he is in, and complains of hard times. I 
do not brag of being rich, or that our New England 
farmers can be very rich by mere farming, but I do 



THE AGRICULTURAL PRESS. 193 

argue that they may make a good living and lay up a 
little against a wet day. A. B. 

Barre, Vermont^ 1859. 

This was a stronger argument against my position 
than I ever expected to see. On looking the article 
carefully over, I was led to infer one of two things. 
One was, that the writer had failed to understand my 
position in regard to what farming was, or that there 
was some mistake about it. 

I therefore sat down and penned a carefully worded 
article in order to draw the writer out, to see if he had 
made a mistake, and had coupled a successful specula- 
tion, such as a wood or timber operation, with legiti- 
mate farming. This article could not obtain a place in 
the Farmer. I then wrote to the editor of that paper 
twice to obtain the address of his Barre correspondent, 
telling him I wanted to correspond with him. To 
neither of these letters could I obtain any reply. I 
then wrote to a friend in Boston to call at the Farmer 
office and see what they had to say In the matter. My 
friend wrote me that his name was not known at the 
office, or they did not know who the coi'respondent was. 

I thought it singular that so important a matter 
should find a place in the Farmer, without so much as 
knoAving the name of the author. This was unusual. 
The whole had rather a suspfcious look on the face of it. 
In talking the matter over with one of my neighbors, 
he told me that he had frequently been In the town ; his 
wife came from an adjoining town, and his wife and him- 
self both felt quite sure that there was some error in re- 
17 



194 FARMING AS IT IS. 

gard to it, as neither of them had any knowledge of 
such person in the place. The reader can easily judge 
whether a man having accomplished what " A. B. " 
claims in a small country town, would be likely to be 
unknown. As it is not incumbent on me to prove a 
negative, I will leave the subject, hoping that the par- 
ties interested will place the matter truly before the 
people. For, as I just said, if this is true, it is a strong 
argument against my position ; but if the reverse, then 
my position will not suffer, and I will here state that I 
have no fears of that, not in the least. 

I well know that some men can do great things, — 
what would seem almost impossible to some ; bvit until 
a different system of reckoning is obtained, all the 
money that can be made at farming can be put in a 
small compass. 

CONCORD RIVER MEADOWS. 

As the editor of the Farmer claims the ri^ht to tax 
me and all farmers in the State to furnish means to 
drain his meadows on Concord river, and also to import 
fancy stock, and do many other things that are posi- 
tively injurious to all laboring men, then I claim the 
right to be heard, while the people and not the fancy 
have the power. For the tendency of this right to 
tax the people is to deprite us of the means to pay a 
tax at all, and also of the privilege of being taxed. If 
we have to go over to Concord to drain his meadows, 
it would seem to be right for the Concord farmers to 
come over here to Chelmsford and help us, as our 



THE AGRICULTURAL PRESS. 195 

meadows might be improved ; but the absurdity of 
this arrangement is that the parlor farmers would get 
their work all done up, and we should have to "dig 
our potatoes " after the frost had claimed the right to 
nip the fingers. 

This right also to tax us to import fancy stock at 
fabulous prices, and then when they conclude to die 
off as they do in their own country, to again tax us to 
replace them, is but another part of the same system, 
the tendency of which is, that the whole arrangement 
will some day have to be either disbanded, or we shall 
become a nation of serfs and nobles, and our democ- 
racy will be in name only. I say these things because 
I believe them to be true ; and those friends whom I 
sifirnalize as actors in the drama, must look for the 
cause down deep at the bottom of things, and not 
wholly at the idea of momentary relief by flying to the 
public chest as a remedy, for what they consider as 
evils are not evils, only as injudicious legislation has 
fastened them upon us, and the only legitimate remedy 
is not to multiply, but displace the cause. " Put the 
axe at the root of the tree." 

And it may not be out of the bounds of inquiry in 
this work, as my object is to do good and not evil, to 
enjoin upon all farmers the importance of looking care- 
fully to those whom they select as law makers ; for if I 
can see clearly, the acts of the last, and one or two 
other legislatures, will cost them millions of treasure, 
and fasten upon the people a system or code of laws 
that no one generation can wholly eradicate. 



196 FARMING AS IT PS. 

Notwithstanding all that has been said on the Im- 
mense profits of farming In the public prints and other- 
erwlse by the fancy, I have seldom met a man who in 
private conversation makes any such pretence. But 
almost universally they will tell you that it is a losing 
business. The reader has seen how it Is. As soon as 
the figures are made, the tale is told. Make them any 
way you will, or anywhere you please, the result is 
nearly the same. In Massachusetts or Ohio, Vermont 
or Wisconsin, the result is always about the same. 
Go down South, where labor is almost cheap enough 
to satisfy Mr. Secretary Flint, although I have always 
supposed they did furnish a scanty living for their 
workers, and the fio-ures are no better for ao-rlculture. 
Cotton, sugar, rice and tobacco cannot be made of 
nothing any more than com, wheat, hay, or any product 
grown at the North. 

Entertaining the opinions I do in the matter, and 
being confident that no one when put to the test can 
show any other result from actual statements and fig- 
ures, the idea occurred to me to correspond with some 
of those men who have been most prominent in pre- 
senting the other side of the subject, to show the reader 
how they talk when asked in plain terms in regard to 
their own experience or practice. 

I accordingly wrote, or caused to be written, letters 
to many of the fancy and other farmers In this and 
other States on the subject. The following is a copy 
of the letters sent, and some of the answers are here 
eubjolned. It will be proper to state here that out of 



THE AGRICULTURAL PRESS. 197 

all the letters written and sent, I have received answers 
to but few, and will say that I am greatly obliged 
to those who were kind enough to favor me with an 
answer, although the reader will need no promptings 
to define the reason of the neglect of those who did 
not. 

"Dear Sir : — I am preparing for the press a small 
work to be entitled ' Farming as it is,' expressive of 
my views of Agriculture, as a means of living for the 
young men and young women of this section of the 
country, with limited or no means but their stout hearts 
and strong arms. 

And, sir, as you have had large experience in this 
branch of human industry, and are equally interested 
in whatever pertains to our best interest and the pros- 
perity of the country, I have thought it advisable to 
address you and a few others upon this important sub- 
ject, hoping you will kindly consider the matter. 

The point of inquiry is this : have you so separated 
your agricultural from your other interests as to be 
able to decide with a considerable degree of accuracy, 
if in your own practice you have made a profit, or a 
net income above a reasonable estimate on the value 
of the labor performed, and a fair per cent, on the cap- 
ital invested ? 

An early reply is respectfully solicited. 

With much respect, I remain, your friend, 

J. T. P. 

Chelmsford, Mass., March, 1860. 

Hon. Simon Brown in his reply, says, " I have to 
say that / have not, and therefore my experience would 
not be valuable to you." 

The reader is awai'c that this Mr. Brown is one of 

the men who claims to be competent to teach the people 

how to farm, and travels the country for this purpose, 
17* 



198 FARMING AS IT IS. 

and is paid out of the treasury of the State. He is a 
farmer in old Concord, in this County, is editor of the 
"New England Farmer," is continually talking and 
writing about the monstrous profits of farming, both in 
his own practice, and in that of others. He nearly 
doubled his money on the corn crop last year, and yet, 
when asked in plain terms, to put his name to the facts 
and figures of his own Agriculture, he says, " I have 
not," or " I cannot say," &c., &c. Further comment 
is unnecessary. His letter is here subjoined. 

Boston, March 23, 1860. 

Dear Sir : In your note of the 18th instant, you 
inquire : 

" Have you so separated your Agricultural from 
your other interests, as to decide with considerable de- 
gree of accuracy, if in your own practice you have 
made a profit or a net income above a reasonable esti- 
mate on the value of the labor performed, and a fair 
per cent, on the capital invested ? " 

In reply, I have to say that I have not, and there- 
fore my ex^jerience would not be valuable to you, so far 
as exact statements are concerned. I am glad you are 
writing upon the subject, because the more thorough 
the investigation, the more decisive will be the convic- 
tion among our people that farming, as an occuj)ation, 
is healthy, profitable and honorable. I am very sin- 
cerely and cordially yours, 

Simon Brown. 

Hon. Richard S. Fay, says, " I do not claim to have 
received a profit^'' &c., &c. 

Mr. Fay's farming, as he says, is no criterion by 
which to judge of the profits or losses of farming gen- 
erally. He undoubtedly, like thousands of others, sup- 



THE AGRICULTURAL PRESS. 199 

poses it is for the best good of the people to make farm 
products cheap, when the reverse is incontrovertibly 
true. For this purpose he labors, but I hope however 
that ere long, he and others will see their error. 

The following is Mr. Fay's reply : 

Boston, April 9, 1860. 

Dear Sir : Your favor of April od, addressed to 
me at Lynn, I have just received. You ask me the 
following question : 

"Have you so separated your Agricultural from 
your other interests as to be able to decide with a con- 
siderable degree of accuracy, if in your own practice 
you have made a profit or a net income above a reason- 
able estimate on the value of the labor performed, and 
a fair per cent, on the capital invested ? " 

I will answer in reply, that my farming operations 
form a very small proportion of the labor or money ex- 
pended upon my place in Lynn, which is not, from the 
nature of the soil, adapted to the purposes of general 
Ao-riculture. I have, however, kept an accurate account 
of all my expenditures, labor, money, &c., applied to 
Agriculture, as well as the receipts, and I can safely 
say that as a capitalist, I am not dissatisfied with the 
result.. I do not claim to have received a " profit or 
net income above a reasonable estimate for labor per- 
formed, and a fair per cent, on the capital invested,^'' 
for if I understand the expression above quoted, it 
would be a most unreasonable profit, but I have had a 
fair return for my labor and capital. 

I am convinced, from experience and observation, 
that a young man, with limited means, such as you de- 
scribe in your note, at the present prices of land in 
Massachusetts, can make money at less risk in the pur- 
suit of Agriculture, than in any other department of 
human imlustry, — provided, he understands the busi- 
ness, and has had a proper Agricultural training. Foor 
farmlnrj wdl not pay, — the same penalties await the 



200 FARMING AS IT IS. 

want of skill in this as in other occupations. It \vill 
not pay perhaps to grow 30 bushels of corn to the acre, 
or a ton of hay, — it will not pay to breed ordinary 
animals at any price ; but it will pay to grow good 
crops, and good animals ; and the same skill which is 
required to insure success in other pursuits, will lind a 
double reward in Agriculture. 

I have read several communications from you in the 
"New England Farmer," upon the profits of farming, 
but until 1 know the point you are aiming at, I cannot 
tell whether the purpose you have in view is likely to 
be u.'-eful or not. If I were to enter upon the subject 
you have in hand, I should take the maximum crops 
that have been and are grown, test the question .of profit 
or loss upon them ; if a profit, I should point to those 
crops as the standard of success, and a falling off from 
the standard, as a sure declension until it reaches tlie 
lower point, which you may also establish, as the point 
of loss. I see nothing gained in the way of informa- 
tion to the young man entering life, by informing him 
that Mr. A. has made money by farming, and that Mr. 
B. has not, unless you can go into their accounts and 
show the reasons for the two opposite results. A fail- 
ure of success does not of necessity prove that the 
business in which it occurred is not a profitable one. 
Indeed, in all departments of industry, the inherent un- 
profitableness of the business is the least common cause 
of failure. Ninety-nine men out of a hundred, wheth- 
er in manufactures, agriculture or commerce, as well 
as in the learned professions, who fail., do so because 
they do not understand., or neglect their business. I 
have written this hastily, — judging from your note, 
that an early reply would oblige you. The motive for 
my saying more than to reply to your question, I trust 
you will appreciate. Very truly your obt. sevt.. 

E. S. Fay. 

The letter from Hon. George S. Boutwell is valuable 
in this particular; it shows that he is keeping the fig- 



THE AGRICULTURAL PRESS. 201 

ures, the debit and credit ; and that, after all, is the 
thing to be desired. Let all farmers do this, and a rev- 
olution for good must be the result. Make the fig- 
ures, brother farmers everywhere, and do it every day, 
upon every crop and every animal, and take your time ; 
consider this a part of the work of the farm. Never 
put it off till a rainy day, or Saturday night, or Sun- 
day, making this an excuse for staying away from 
church. Have a tag fastened upon every animal, and 
every product, with some kind of cabalistic characters, 
same as the tailors have upon their coats, pants, &c., 
so that you will know at once the cost of each article, 
and when a customer comes along, tell him it cost so 
and so, just as the tailor tells you, and let everybody 
know that figui'ing and farming are synonymous. If 
it is right that other folks should make a profit, it is 
equally so that the farmer should. And all those who 
have a fortune, or are in receipt of an income outside 
of the business, should recollect that when you so 
cheapen the price of farm products below living wages, 
you deprive those in embarrassed circumstances of the 
means of a living. 

Groton, 21st March, 1860. 

My Dear Sir : Your letter of the 18th instant is 
before me, and I regret that I cannot aid you in your 
inquiries. 

I took a farm in 1854, that had been much neglected, 
and for two years after, I did not attend to its cultiva- 
tion. Since that time, my chief expenditures have re- 
lated to the renovation of the land. 1 have not, how- 
ever, kept an account of receipts and expenditures. It 



202 FARMING AS IT IS. 

is my purpose to do so in future, but heretofore, such 
an account would have had no vakie in the ekicidation 
of the subject of your inquiry. 

My behcf is that hay, grain, milk and butter, pay a 
small profit to the producer. Other products I have 
not tried. Very respectfully, 

Geo. S. Boutwell. 



Salem, May 13, 1860. 

My Dear Sir : Yours of March 28th, Avas laid 
aside with a view of writing an elaborate answer, but 
I find this to be impossible on account of pressing 
duties. I seize a moment now, on my return from 
Brookfield, v.dicre I am engaged in extirpating the ter- 
rible cattle disease, to say that there is no doubt of the 
profit of farming when pursued carefully and economi- 
cally. I stated last season in an address, that no man- 
ual labor was so well paid, and I believe it. 

As a proof of my assertion, I Avould state that the 
town of New Braintree, wholly Agricultural, is the 
richest in the State in proportion to its population. 

My own accounts show a very fair increase on a 
large investment : and of course, I must farm at a great 
disadvantage. 

No business requires so much patience, foresight, and 
sagacity, none so thorough an adaptation of one's ope- 
rations to the locality in which one is situated. 
Truly yours, 

Geo. B. Loring. 

The letter of Dr. Loring I hope the reader will give 
a careful perusal. He has spoken plainly, just as every 
man had ought to speak, when the rights of others are 
involved. For I know of nothing more annoying than 
this running all round the stump, or like the Irisliman's 
flea, when you put your "finger on him he is nut 
there." 



THE AGEICULTURAL TEESS. 203 

The Doctor says that his " own accounts show a very 
fair income on a hirge investment : and of course, he 
must farm at a great disadvantage." Why so ? Why 
not you farm at a profit, same as our merchants and 
manufacturers, who seldom do any of their own work, 
but often pay several times as much for help, clerk- 
hire, book keepers, &c., as any farm workmen expect. 
If farm labor is better paid than any other " manual " 
labor, why cannot a young man, who holds himself up 
as competent to teach farming, do what he thinks others 
may do ? 

" No business," says the Doctor, " requires so much 
patience, foresight, and sagacity, none so thorough an 
adaptation of one's operations to the locality in which 
one is situated." If the Doctor had said in addition to 
this, that no business required so much physical exer- 
tion and deprivation, then I should agree wdtli him. 

But the principal point in my friend's letter to sus- 
tain his position, is the " wealth " of New Braintree, 
which he cites as " proof " of his argument. He says 
that this town (New Braintree,) is wholly " Agricul- 
tural," and the " richest in the State in proportion to 
its population." Let us see how this is. 

I presume that the Doctor will not claim that this 
proves any thing either way ; because a town is rich and 
Agricultural, does not prove farming to be profitable. 
For if these people made their money at farming, that 
would be an argument, but as they did not, but inher- 
ited it, mainly and by their inactivity have been grad- 
ually deci'casing in population, and it is one of the very 
few towms that have done this, in the State. The year 



204 FARMING AS IT IS. 

before the last census was taken, there was but one 
mari'iage in the town, and the deaths were greater than 
the births. From 1850 to 1855, the population fell off 
77, more than 15 each year. This shows anything but 
prosperity. 

Now for my friend's facts. It " is the richest in the 
State in proportion to its population." In 1850, the 
population was 852, the inventory, $554,624. This 
would give $653 to each inhabitant, or to a family of 
five, $3,265. In Brookline, in Norfolk County, the 
population at the same time was 2,516. The valuation, 
$5,436,854.50. This would give to each person more 
than $2,100, or a family of five persons, $10,500, more 
than three times as much as New Braintree. In North 
Chelsea, the valuation would give to each person, 
$857.00. In the town of WatertOAvn, Middlesex Coun- 
ty, the population was 2,837. The valuation, $2,351,- 
583.20. This would allow to each person, $828, or a 
family of five persons, $4,140. In New Bedford, the 
popidation was 16,443. The valuation at the same 
time, $14,489,266. Maldng $881.00 to each person, and 
to a family of five persons, $4,405.00. I presume that 
this will do. There are other towns in the State which 
the census of 1850 shows the same result, and if we 
exclude foreigners, as they should be in a calculation of 
this kind with their property, there would be many 
towns and cities exceedinsj in their averao-e valuation 
the town of New Braintree. 

The Doctor further says : " As proof of my assertion, 
I would state that the town of New Braintree, is wholly 
agricultural." (" Wholly agricultural.") Let us fccc. 



THE AGRICULTURAL PRESS. 205 

In 1855, the report on the industry of the Ptatc 
says there was a caiTiage manufactory making $1,500 
worth a year, or the year previous ; also, $7,155 worth 
of boots and shoes made ; value of palm leaf hats 
$70 ; value of lumber purchased for market, $1,400 ; 
value of fire-wood prepared for market, $1,250 ; also, 
a shoe shaving establishment. Thus it seems that al- 
though the people are mainly agriculturists, they are 
not wholly so. 

Now let us see what these wealthy farmers earned, 
for if farming is more profitable than any other " man- 
ual labor," as the Doctor asserts, and after some six 
weeks of time to prepare a strong argument in " proof 
of his assertion," he has gone up into the western part 
of Worcester county for his arguments, where they 
keep the fancy stock, and have got the needful to do 
it with. 

The total products of the year 1854, were as follows : 

Wool products, 179 pounds, at 30 $53 70 

Butter, 12,635 " 25 3,158 00 

Cheese, 265,650 " 10 26,565 00 

Indian corn, 7,710 bushels, 1 12^ 8,674 00 

Wheat, 48 " 2 50 120 00 

Eye, 1,800 " 125 2,250 00 

Barley, 2,522 " 1 00 2,522 00 

Oats, 4,758 '« 50 2,379 00 

Potatoes, 13,000 " 50 6,500 00 

English hay, 2,100 tons, 14 00 29,400 00 

Swale hay, 542 " 6 00 3,250 00 

Apples, 3,477 00 

Pears, 8 00 

Cranberries, 366 00 

Buckwheat, 125 bushels, at 75 cents 94 00 

Swine, 238, valued 2,380 00 

Total $91,206 70 



206 FARMING AS IT IS. 

If any one supposes that this $91,206.70 represents 
truly the earnings of the farmers pf New Braintree for 
the year 1854, they are greatly mistaken, and before 
setting themselves up for teachers, they had better go 
to school, and not be very ambitious to get into a high 
class neither. With just as much propriety might a 
manufacturer figure up the value of the raw material 
of which his goods are made, then estimate the value 
after they are manufactured, and adding the whole 
together, calling that sum the earnings of the year. 
Of course our manufacturer would deceive himself, 
possibly others ; but if he was rich, worked hard, was 
very prudent, he might remain in blissful ignorance, 
but some morning his heirs would wake up a little dis- 
appointed. 

Then according to this report, the prices were some 
higher in 1855 than now. 

If I were to estimate the earnings of this town for 
the year, I should make the figures thus, taking the 
sum total as it stands : 

$91,206.70, less 15 per cent, for marketing, selling, 

and loss , $13,681 00 

Earnings of capital, 6' per cent, on $300,000 ... 18,000 00 

Raw material of which the products are made 30,402 23 

$62,083 23 

Let this sum be taken from the whole earning-s, it 
will leave $29,123.47 as a compensation for the labor. 
This divided among 250 farm laborers, would give 
each 1116. 

Thus my friend Dr. Loring will see that if there is 



THE AGRICULTURAL PRESS. 207 

" no doubt of the profit of farming," he has been ex- 
tremely unfortunate in his facts to " prove " it ; for he 
must perceive that what he supposed to be facts were 
only imaginary ones, and I only regret that his time 
could not have been so much at his command as to 
have enabled him to have written out his " elaborate 
answer," for I always find it much easier to talk to 
those who, when they speak, say something, rather 
than words. 

Until we have a more correct system of estimating 
the cost of farm products, no poor man can earn a re- 
spectable and comfortable living at farming. That 
many of the farmers of New Braintree are wealthy, 
and the town is wealthy, is no argument to prove the 
profitableness of agriculture. If these men had earned 
their money, it would have been different. As long as 
we are able to export grain and animal food to coun- 
tries whose laborers are serfs, we have got to do one 
or two things : either defraud labor of a decent re- 
ward, or exhaust the soil, perhaps both. This is just 
what we are doing. For while labor is nominally much 
lower in Europe, their farm products are much higher. 
There agriculture can be done at a profit ; here only 
at a loss. When we shall learn to increase the fertihty 
of our land without domestic animals, keeping them 
only when the income from them will pay day wages 
for the food and the care they deman(#, then nearly the 
whole secret of successful farming is obtained. Now 
we make slaves of ourselves to provide for our animals, 
rearing and fattening them, without the least prospect 
of a reward for doing so. 



208 FARMING AS IT IS. 

The Chinese have increased the productiveness of 
their soil, cultivating constantly the same for many 
centuries, and yet it is just as ready to bear its burden 
now as ever. They have comparatively no animals, 
not relying on these for plant food. Neither have they 
any such thing as agricultural societies, or Boards of 
Agriculture ; yet there is no lack of human food. 
They rely entirely on the law of supply and demand, 
as all classes of people should, believing that all indus- 
trial interests are best protected when left entirely 
free. There is no more need of legislating for the 
farmers than the shoemakers ; if, when the latter run 
till they run nearly down, and then " strike," so the 
farmers should watch carefully their rights, and when 
their labor yields them a scanty living, they should 
pause. 

All farmers should keep all the stock, and raise all 
the products they need for their own consumption and 
use, and never sell an article from the farm only in 
case of emergency, at a loss. No matter what men 
say or pretend, this is the only ground upon which we 
can act ; for the price of human food in the cities and 
market places to the consumers is not governed by the 
realization of the farmer, but by the cupidity of the 
speculators. When wheat sells for sixty cents per 
bushel in Chicago by the farmer, flour ought to be sold 
at retail in Boston for five dollars per barrel. But this 
is not the fact, for the price of flour in Boston depends 
quite as much on a manufactured money market, as on 
the price of grain at the West. When beef is sold 



THE AGEICULTURAL PEESS. 209 

for six dollars per hundred in Cambridge, the consu- 
mers in Boston should buy the article for from four to 
thirteen cents per pound. But let me say that the 
price of beef to the producer, has but little to do with 
the cost of the article to the consumers. The losses 
of the farmers increase the profits of the traders. 

Some of the most distinguished agricultural writers 
and lecturers to whom the people have been pleased to 
listen, have written to me in reply to my interrogato- 
ries, and say that they have nothing to say that will 
be of any use, or in their own language, " I have no* 
accounts with my land accurate enough for publica- 
tion," &c. ; or, "I do not know of my own knowl- 
edge," " I have made no money," &c., &c. 

Out of all the answers I have received to my in- 
quiries, not a single one, with the exception of Dr. 
Loring, have claimed that they themselves have got 
pay for their labor. They never took the view of the 
matter that was suggested. 

It seems to me proper here to state that the Secre- 
tary of the " Board of Agriculture," Mr. Flint, did not 
favor me with a reply. Inasmuch as he is in receipt 
of large pay from the State, which the taxes of ail 
farmers in the Commonwealth go to support, I was 
in hopes that he would let the farmers know what he 
had to say in the matter. Because, if he is no farmer, 
had this fact ought to be kept from the people ? Is a 
man who knows but little about farming practically, as 
a means of living, the best man to stand at the head of 
the " Board," supposing the object is to benefit the 
18* 



210 FAEMING AS IT IS. 

farmer, as is professed ? If not the farmers' interest is 
to be promoted, but those who live on the labor of the 
farmer, then the arrangement is undoubtedlj wise. 

The last five years have been the most disastrous to 
the farmers of this country that they ever experienced, 
and whether they know it or not, it does not alter the 
fact. The whole of these troubles, or nearly so, can 
be directly traced to what is termed the fostering care 
of legislative action ; a fondness of the pap that flows 
from the public chest. As this pap is increased, the 
poor will have to suffer ; and it wiU not effect the poor 
only, but will permeate throughout aU society. 

THE FIRST CONVERT. 

Strange tilings do happen, sometimes, any way. The 
reader has seen what the Hon. Simon Brown said in 
his letter, in regard to the professions of young men, 
and the profits of his own Agriculture. 

Who then would have thought that in a few short 
weeks a hopeful conversion would have resulted upon 
the principal idea embraced in my letter, to which his 
is a reply ? 

After conning this letter over in his mind a few 
weeks, he came out in a leader in his own paper, of 
May 19th, following, a portion of which article I here 
insert. 

" In view of this increasing interest in Agricultural 
pursuits, wc wish to suggest that, in our opinion, great- 
er freedom may be extended to farmers' sons and dauo;h- 
ters in the choice of a profession. For ourselves, we 



THE AGEICULTUEAL PEESS. 211 

are ready to sign a proclamation that, henceforth, every- 
one who desires to do so, may leave the farm and the 
farm-house, forthwith ! 

As the business of Agriculture now stands, there is 
little hope of success by any of those sick of home, 
victims of fate plodders, who beHeve they were made 
for mechanics, merchants, peddlers, preachers, politicians 
or fiddlers. All these classes are wanted, but not on 
the farm. In the late discussion of the question, 
" What will tend to make farming pleasant and profit- 
able as a pursuit ? " by the Legislative Agricultural 
Society, it was well suggested that a love of the busi- 
ness is essential. People must take hold of it from 
choice, and voluntarily devote to it the best energies of 
their minds and bodies, or the business will not be either 
pleasant or profitable. 

Who has not often remarked, that, among the strange 
whims of our common humanity, there is a disposition 
to do those things which it has been forbidden to do, 
and to leave undone those things which it has been 
most persistently advised and exhorted to do. Eecog- 
nizing this as a well-known, but often neglected prin- 
ciple of human nature, we do honestly believe there is 
danger that the advice to Jcirvicrs^ sons to stick to the 
farm may he too frequently repeated J'^ 

I am free to admit that I did not expect to make 
converts quite so easily, as this article of the editor in- 
dicates ; yet, such seems to be the fact. And if this 
writer sees a suflScient amount of truth and practical 
advancement in the many other ideas contained in this 
book, and is as ready to admit that we have outlived 
the single idea principle, that the only road to excellence 
is over the necks of humanity, and will work in con- 
junction with the thousands of others who must see 
that the principles here advocated arc practicable and 



212 FARMING AS IT IS. 

reasonable, and for the general welfare, what an amount 
of good may in a brief time be accomplished. 

" A. single word that is fitly spoken, 
May wound or soothe a heart that's broken." 

It is not apt to be the case that those individuals who 
are the most easily enlisted, make the best " soldiers," 
yet, as the politicians say, we go for " principles not 
men ;" and as in this stage of the controversy, consid- 
ering the reasonableness and importance of the position 
taken, it would seem reasonable that brief conversions 
would be likely to ensue, therefore, I hope that none 
will question the probationary time taken, as the great- 
est sinners often make the most valuable pleaders of a 
good cause. 

And as it is not to be supposed that Mr. Brown 
could have embraced the whole of the code of prin- 
ciples in this work, from the brief letter he 
was so kind as to acknowledge, inasmuch as he still 
holds to the opinion that the farmers should ignore the 
idea of being " mechanics, Tnerchants, peddlers, preach- 
ers, politicians or fiddlers;^'' and as this idea seriously 
conflicts with my views of the matter, he will see that 
he is not yet wholly converted, having only taken the 
initiary steps to a more perfect development. 

For I hold that this idea that farmers should be mere 
drudges upon the farm, electing others to do their 
preaching, trading, &c., is a fundamental error that 
needs to be eradicated, and were it not for this " Board 
of Agriculture," and all the other humbugs of the day, 
which are gnawing at the very vitals of the working 



THE AGRICULTURAL PRESS. 213 

fanner, would be among the things for which a free and 
enlightened people have no place. In another para- 
graph in the same article that I am now briefly review- 
ing, the editor says, " We might also refer ... to 
the labor-saving implements which do the work of 
menials and slaves." 

Recollect that the Editor is talking about New Eng- 
land farmers and New England farming ; not Old Eng- 
land nor the land of the Plottentots, those very men 
who for more than a quarter of a century he boasts of 
having " sjaoken to editorially," in regard to their in- 
terests and good, and has always been foremost in his 
endeavor to pursuade young men everywhere to " stick 
to the farm," saying that all other business is overdone, 
and this yields a profit unparalleled. And now when 
confronted in his position, he turns round and sneer- 
ingly talks about the country boys as being " fate plod- 
ders," anxious to become " peddlers, preachers, politi- 
cians, fiddlers," <S:C. Then professes to see in the late 
inventions a relief for the " menials and slaves." What 
implement, let me ask, has yet been made to do the 
most repulsive work upon the farm ? It is only the 
genteel work that is now done by machinery, mainly, 
leaving the " severity of our toil " yet to " menials and 
slaves." 

However, I will say but little more, as my friend 
will be led to think that instead of his being a convert, 
he is hardly prepared as a candidate for the anxious 
seat ; hoping, therefore, that all twinges of conscience, 
however slight, will admonish him of the importance 



214 FARMING AS IT IS. 

of the subject, and that the principles here advocated 
are the only touch-stone to a complete redemption. 

" For ourselves, we are ready to sign a proclamation 
that, henceforth, every one who desires to do so may 
leave the farm and the farm-house, forthwith." 

Rather cool ! How long since you came to this con- 
clusion, and who is to draw up the " proclamation ? " 
This is important. Perhaps the country boys will de- 
mand an explanation in regard to the " menials and 
slaves J^ And also, would like to know if this " pro- 
clamation " is to include ^^ Jiddlers, mechanics,^'' &c., 
as well. Those words grate harshly on New England 
ears. Do j^ou think this treating the young men re- 
spectfully, after having done more perhaps than any 
other man by way of advising them " to stick to the 
farm," thereby rendering them unqualified to engage 
successfully in any business. Verily, 

" The evil that men do, lives after them." 

Again, my friend the editor says, " But if the num- 
ber of papers devoted to the interest of the farmer 
which are now read and supported by farmers, may be 
cited with hopefulness and exultation, surely the talent 
and ability which are displayed in their management 
may be regarded with the highest degree of satisfac- 
tion." 

I should like to inquire what papers he refers to as 
being " devoted to the interest of the farmer ? " Cer- 
tainly a paper that speaks of the working farmers as 
being " menials and slaves," and tells about their "fZo^- 



THE AGEICULTURAL PRESS. 216 

ged wilfulness,^' (genteel expressions — refined lan- 
guage,) would hardly be considered very strongly " de- 
voted to the farmer's interest." Perhaps if the editor 
vrould explicitly define what he understands by the 
word, (farmer,) we could then understandingly con- 
sider the subject. 

In pharmacy there are two classes of practitioners ; 
one class we call doctors, (or the regulars,) the other, 
quacks or quack doctors, (irregulars.) If this term 
were applied to one class of farmers to distinguish 
th&m, calling those who rely on their own industry and 
capital for support, "farmers," and those who live 
mainly by preying upon the farmers, quacks or quack 
farmers, we could then consider them understandingly. 

Therefore, if the editor wishes to be understood, 
when speaking of the " papers " as being " devoted to 
the farmer's interest," this latter class of farmers, or 
as they now stand, quacks or quack farmers, then there 
is no chance for an arfjument. For of what use would 
all this " machinery " Avhich is doing the work of 
*' menials and slaves " be, were it not for the papers to 
puflP them into existence ? Are not the papers, yea, and 
their editors, too, but " clay in the potter's hands," to 
deceive the farmers of their rights ? Then were it not 
for this " dogged wilfulness,^' ^^ mistaken for inde2)end- 
ence,'" which the editor loathes so much, that " the 
business of farming has hred a hearty contempt,'"' and 
in some degree puts a veto on the " fat strikes," of the 
fancy. 

This 19th of May article of the editor is so full of 



216 FAEMING AS IT IS. 

subject matter that requires but little criticism, it being 
more explicit than any language of mine can make it, 
that perhaps, on the whole, it would have been better 
to have given the whole a place here rather than the 
few extracts I have made, although what I have taken 
is a tolerable index to the article, and can in no wise 
be called a garbled synopsis. The italics mainly are 
mine. 

With one or two extracts more, I will leave it. 
" We mio-ht also refer to books on agriculture which 
are swelhng our libraries to a size that is fast assuming 
the soHd proportions of the libraries of the profes- 
sions.^^ 

Who has written a book that is of any benefit to 
the farmer ? It is true that some books have been 
made, but generally they are reprints from old English 
works, or are translated from other languages, and of 
course are not adapted to our system or policy of in- 
dustry. In England, I have the authority of Hon. 
Henry F. French for saying, that while their labor is 
much lower, their products are much higher than ours. 
Proving conclusively that if there agriculture is but a 
paying business, here it must be a losing one. I now 
refer to hired labor, for there is no class of men under 
the sun who work so cheap, or at so great a loss as the 
owners or occupants of farms in New England. Al- 
lowing that farm property should pay a dividend of 
six per cent,, same as city property, then charge the 
depreciation in value to the income, and all the surplus 
there is left to pay the owner his labor bill, would 
scarcely affect the sight, if lodged in the eye. 



THE AGRICULTURAL PRESS. 217 

I have spoken in another place of the value to the 
farmer of one class of books, (Flint's Reports.) If 
these " books which swell the libraries," &c., are of 
any use to the farmer, I have always failed to see it. 
Book-making, like shoe-making, is a trade, both useful 
and important; but I fear it is not always the best 
workmen who get the best pay. Slap shoes and slap 
books are in some particulars somewhat analagous ; in 
others, the analogy does not hold, for while the slap 
shoe, like the lion, shows its teeth, warning the be- 
holder of inevitable danger, the slap book, like a more 
stealthy foe, lives and fattens by suction. The one 
draws hard upon the purse, — the other upon the mind 
as well ; and that although a vacuum of books is to be 
deplored, a vacuum of mind produced by the multipli- 
cation of deceptive books is to be abhorred. 

A single extract more will close this criticism. " A 
noble band of brothers, these readers and contributors 
of agricultural papers. Social, sympathetic, united ! " 
This reminds me of the fable of the " fox and chanti- 
cleer." The rooster, it will be recollected, took refuge 
in the branches of a handy tree to save himself from 
the clutches of his wily foe. The fox then resorted to 
a stratagem, and said all sorts of pretty things to in- 
duce his shy neighbor to come down. " A noble band 
of brothers, * * * * social, sympathetic, united," 
and many other beautiful things that a hungry and 
cunning fox would be likely to say, was said. Whether 
chanticleer had enough of that " dogged wilfulness^ 
mistaken for independence" to keep him out of harm's 
19 



218 FAEMING AS IT IS. 

way is not stated. Presuming that he had, then the 
mild terms of " menial and slave," perhaps followed. 

Now, if my friend the editor thinks he can embrace 
the whole code of principles here inculcated with open 
arms, he will be received. But the simple avowal of 
regretting that he has said so much to induce the 
young men " to stick to the farm," although important 
as far as it goes, is hardly a full recompense for the 
many evils under which the farmer labors. And that 
although all have a right to jjromote their own inter- 
ests, yet let us not seek to fasten wrongs upon our 
people, looking down into the long future, that will 
have a tendency to rob honest labor of a just reward. 

Jefferson says, that " These truths are self-evident, 
that all men are created equal ; that they are endowed 
by their Creator with certain inalienable rights ; that 
among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happi- 
ness. That to secure these rights, governments are 
instituted among men, deriving their just powers from 
the consent of the governed.''^ These are the principles 
upon which our institutions are based ; our policy 
being with all classes of industry but agriculture, to 
rely on the natural law of supply and demand. Now, 
let us conquer all prejudice, and let this law permeate 
into all branches of industry. This legislating for 
agriculture is virtually prohibiting all poor men from 
obtaining a livelihood at farming, unless they work for 
wages ; having a direct tendency to keep down the 
price of agricultural products and lands to the stan- 
dard that yields little or no return for labor. 



THE AGKICULTURAL TRESS. 219 

Then why not ask the " consent of the governed " at 
the ballot box, if they want a supervising head at the 
metropolis ? If I can see clearly, an emphatic. No ! 
would redound from Berkshire to Barnstable, from 
Maine to "Wisconsin. Any other answer would evince 
an imbecility, the existence of which all farmers would 
be slow to admit. When the markets for the various 
products of mechanical industry become so overstocked 
with goods that labor yields a reward insufficient to 
supply the conveniencies of life, the workmen stop, 
take breath, consult together and devise means to in- 
crease the awards of the toiling masses. If they suc- 
ceed, and accomplish the object of their desires, the 
world applauds and honors them for it. But let them 
fail, and the iron heel of oppression is upon them. 
Where is the man to-day that does not think better of 
the shoemakers of New England than he did before 
the late sti'ike ? Do they not stand higher in the esti- 
mation of all thinking men now, than ever before ? 
Have they not proved to the world their competency 
to manage their own affairs, and without any resort to 
legislation, or any demands upon the treasury of the 
State or country ? Although they have not done all 
that was desired, yet they have solved the problem, 
that to be menials / and slaves ! never. 

Had a similar law to the statute making it a penal 
offence to " expose for sale a load of wood, hay," &c., 
(about which I shall speak more fully elsewhere,) been 
enacted, in the early history of our government, mak- 
ing it obligatory on every shoemaker, under a penalty 



220 FAEMING AS IT IS. 

of twice the value of the goods exposed, to employ an 
expert to stand between him and the purchaser, when- 
ever an article of his industry was put in the market ; 
and further, had laws been enacted, and the people's 
treasury severely taxed, to keep down the price of 
shoes, and the most fulsome measures been adopted to 
destroy his manhood, would the workmen, yea, and 
the workwomen I too, have had the independence, the 
courage and the stamina, at an inclement season, amid 
storms and sleet, for more than six weeks, to stand out 
against the combination of capital, threats and inso- 
lence, hurling back into the teeth of quack philanthro- 
phy and a dogmatic inclination to rule or ruin, " No 
Slavery here ? " 

There is none too much of that " dogged wilfulness, 
mistaken for independence," which is so annoying in 
some circles. ",4 fortiori.''^ 

" Consensus facit legem." 

Now let the farmers think these things all over, and 
see if they cannot see in the early and late statutes a 
sufficient reason for the invasion of their rights, and 
the intolerable presumption emanating from certain 
classes of men, who have a rage for speaking^ " Caco- 
ethes loquendi," or, an itch for scribbling, " Cacoethes 
scribendi." 

" Vendidit hie auro patriam." 

They would sell their country for gold. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE STATUTE LAWS THE LAW OP CUSTOM, AND 

HOW THE FAEMEES LIVE. 

The State Laws Detrimental to the Farming Interest — Agriculture the 
Foundation upon which all Interests Stand — The Honesty of Farmers 

— The Tailor and the Farmer — The Statute and the Surveyor — The 
Wood Law — The Influence of the Laws ujion the People — The Farm- 
er and his Half-Bushel — Adulteration of .Goods — The Weight of 
Grain and Meal — The Legislature and its Enactments — The Fancy 
and the Appropriations — Special Laws '— Diseased Cattle — Purity of 
Blood and the Taxes — Concord River Meadows — The State going to 
Farming — The Law of Supply and Demand — Let the Farmers Alone 

— How the Farmers Live — Not all by Farming — Speculating Farm- 
ers — Sheep and Butter — How the Farmers Manage to Raise the 
Wind — The Farmers Interest — Prolific Hens — The Hen Fever — 
Important Suggestions — Profit and percent — Legal rate of Interest — 
Net Profit — Earnings of Farmers — Farmers should work, but not 
consider themselves slaves, menials, or under guardianship — A Grand 
Tea-party — Farming a hazardous business — What constitutes poor 
and good Farming — Modern Definitions — Draining the Meadows 
again, and the Cattle Disease— Judge French and his policy — The 
Laws and the Pleuro Legislature — The Board's Commissioners, and 
their guessing. 

In the examination of some of the subjects which 
have been presented in the previous chapters, some of 
the State laws have been noticed. There are other 
laws, and the law of custom growing out of these, that 
for a long series of years have had a detrimental in- 
fluence on the farming communities. The people have 
grown up under these laws, have been influenced by 
them, till they have been thought necessary burdens to 

19* 221 



222 FAEMING AS IT IS. 

bear, and the inequality in tlieir operation has been 
lost sight of. 

If the many things that have been proved by facts 
and figures, which seem to be incontrovertible, and 
operating to impoverish, degrade, and infringe upon the 
rights of one class of the people are true, then there is 
some cause for it ; and it would seem to be the duty 
of ftll good men to seek out this cause, and gradually 
restore that equilibrium among the peo|)le, that no one 
interest may be fostered to the detriment of others, and 
no class of the people be grievously taxed that others 
at their ex^^ense may be benefited. 

My views of the matter are, that Agriculture is the 
foundation upon which all other interests stand ; with- 
out this, civilization ceases, and as a nation we cease to 
exist. Whatever operates to the disadvantage of this 
interest, permeates throughout all society, and, as a 
whole, we stand lower, or fail to reach that position we 
otherwise should. 

"It has been wisely said that that people who are 
governed the least, are governed the best." 

" The essence of all law is justice." * " Those who 
have made j)ernicious and unjust decrees, have made 
anything rather than laws." f 

It is often said that the farmers are more intelligent, 
independent, and honest, than any other class of the 
people. I presume the farmers do not think them- 
selves flattered much when they hear this. Because 
in their every-day transactions, they find that the laws 
* Hampden. t Cicero. 



THE STATUTE LAWS, ETC. 223 

degrade them. If a farmer desires to have a coat 
made, the tailor is supposed to be the best judge in re- 
gard to what he wants. In him he places confidence, 
and the law puts no arbiter between them. His char- 
ges the law considers valid, and let him cut the coat as 
he will, put in such material as suits him, the statute 
makes no provision for any umpire between them. The 
court holds the farmer Hable for the amount of the bill, 
and the sheriff, if need be, enforces the decision. But 
if the tailor feels the need of somethino; to warm him 
up, he calls to the clod-hopper in passing his door, and 
asks him what he wants for the load of wood ? Before 
the price is agreed upon, somebody's clerk steps in with 
the statute under his arm to settle all controversy. 
With a long pole in one hand, and a constable's war- 
rant in the other, the farmer's mouth is entirely closed. 
If he demurs, the statute is read to him in this wise : 

1. " All cord-wood exposed to sale shall be either 
four feet, three feet, or two feet long, including half 
the scarf ; and the wood, being well and close laid to- 
gether, shall measure in quantity equal to a cord of 
eight feet in length, four feet in width, and four feet in 
height." E. S. c. 28, § 200. 

2. "If fire-wood or bark shall be offered for sale be- 
fore the same shall have been measured, by a public 
measurer of wood and bark, and a ticket thereof signed 
by him, delivered to the driver, certifying the quantity 
of wood which the load contains, the name of the 
driver, and the town in which he resides ; the driver or 
owner of such wood or bark shall, for each load, seve- 
rally forfeit the sum of Jive dollars to the use of the 
town where such wood or bark shall be oft'ered for 
sale." Ibid. § 201. 



224 FARMING AS IT IS. 

The object of this law is, I suppose, that the tailor 
may not get cheated by the honest fanner, over whom 
so many crocodile tears are shed. I know of but few 
articles of consumption In which there is so little pos- 
sibility of a chance for deception, as a load of wood. 
It is exposed to view on all sides, and as to the quan- 
tity, repeal the statute, and any farmer's boy who is 
large enough to handle the whip or goad, would soon 
learn to measure it correctly, and take pride in estab- 
lishing, when young, a name for integrity that would 
last him as long as he lives. 

How is it possible to conceive of anything more de- 
grading to an honest man, when going to market with 
the product of his own toil, to contemplate upon the 
statute, making it a penal offence to expose for sale the 
most necessary articles of consumption, without first 
going to some snob, whom the law has armed with brief 
authority, and with a long pole in one hand, a peck 
measure in the other, and a pair of balances on his 
shoulder, undertakes to dictate about the quantity, 
quality, compactness, &c., of the article. 

If the farmers are such consummate roo-ues that no 
confidence can be placed in them, then the law has made 
them such ; or, if they are incompetent to estimate cor- 
rectly the quantity or quality, then, also, the law is re- 
sponsible for that. 

The farmers can never take that position they ought, 
in society, till all these laws are repealed. That they 
quietly submit to them, and do not ask to have them 
changed, is the strongest argument it is possible to con- 



THE STATUTE LAWS, ETC. 225 

ceive of, of the influence of long-standing laws upon 
the minds and habits of a people. 

The statute law, binding as it is, upon them, is 
scarcely less imperative than the law of custom. This 
latter growing out of the former, has now such force 
that no man in purchasing of the farmer, ever thinks of, 
(in fact, the farmers do not expect it,) consulting him 
at all as to the quantity or quality. The price agreed 
upon, then, says the purchaser, bring in your article ; 
let us weigh or measure it. The farmer is not suppos- 
ed to have a half bushel, a pair of balances, or a com- 
mon rule. All his crops exposed for sale are weighed 
or measured by the purchaser's apparatus, when all 
we purchase is weighed or measured by the seller's 
standard ; so that the law of the statutes and custom 
have relieved the farmers of all mind in the matter, and 
left nothing but physical power. The farmer would be 
laughed at if he undertook to tell the cost of an arti- 
cle, and I know he would be ashamed to teU, if he 
knew. 

While it is scarcely possible to deceive any one by 
covering up any imperfections in our products, they are 
of such a bvilky nature, that they must be exposed to 
full view, how is it with those we buy ? Nearly all 
manufactured goods, such as boots, shoes, clothes, 
cloths, hats, caps, bonnets, and many kinds of grocer- 
ies, spices, &c., are either greatly adulterated, or gloss- 
ed over on purpose to deceive all who are not in the 
secret, and there is no arbiter to stand between the pur- 
chaser and the dealer. The law makes no provision 



226 FARMING AS IT IS. 

for this, - — to cheat the farmer is called smart, and en- 
titles one to place and power. 

The law making a bushel of whole grain weigh some 
six or eight pounds more than a bushel of meal, ope- 
rates entirely to the disadvantage of the grower. To 
the miller the grain is the raw material, and the meal 
or flour, the manufactured article ; and if the law 
makes one weigh sixty pounds, so ought the other. I 
do not object to standards, nor the law making it 
penal to violate them, but they should be uniform, and 
bear upon all alike. The manufactured article should 
weigh the same as the raw material, and the variation 
in price not weight, should pay for the process. Then 
a man that was not thoroughly posted, would stand 
some chance in the world. 

Every farmer knows and feels that all these laws op- 
erate against him. He does not complain, and would 
not, though they were much more severe. They exist- 
ed when he was born, — were taken from the code of 
the mother country, where labor is, what American 
labor is destined to be, if it is not already, a perpetual 
waring with the elements for subsistence. 

Not a session of the Legislature passes, but what 
some laws are made placing the farmers more complete- 
ly under guardianship of the State, and inflicting great 
wrong on the people ; proving, conclusively, that the 
State supposes the farmers incapable of conducting 
their own affairs, and seeking to place them in the same 
condition that we find them in the old countries. 

These things will continue just as long as we have 



THE STATUTE LAWS, ETC. 227 

our Boards of Agriculture, Agricultural Societies, &c. 
As long as appropriations are made upon the treasury 
to maintain a few fancy men to keep down the price of 
labor, that the non-producers may luxuriate at a cheap 
rate, so long will these enactments be augmented, till 
freedom in thought and deed is entirely crushed out 
among the people, and we are mere " hewers of wood 
and drawers of water." 

One or two of the special laws of this session of the 
Legislature, (I860,) should be mentioned In this con- 
nection. For instance, the act of the Legislature ap- 
propriating the people's money to pay for certain dis- 
eased cattle In one section of the State, thereby inflict- 
ing two wrongs upon the tax payers. 

By taking our money to import to this country, at 
great cost, foreign blood, that the fancy are so much in 
love with, and which experience has proved are no 
benefit, either to the State, country, or the people, only 
as it furnishes means of living to a certain few, to do 
this, and is a heavy tax upon the people to maintain it 
in its liurity^ as It is termed. 

The enactment taxing the people to buy up certain 
meadows on Concord River, to the supposed benefit of 
the owners, and an injury to many. For If the lands 
are valuable, as is probable, why tax the people to buy 
them ? The people are not to own them, but 
individuals, and if they want them, or want the water 
taken off, let them pay the bills. Admitting these lands 
to be as valuable as they have been represented, what 
is that to do with the State, as an organized govern- 



228 FARMING AS IT IS. 

ment ? Unless the State wants to go to fanning on a 
magnificent scale, and make paupers of all who cannot 
manage to get their hands into the treasury, the sooner 
she washes her hands of all special enactments to per- 
petuate and fasten upon the people institutions to build 
up an aristocracy of power, compelling the poor to feed 
the rich, and the rich to make provision for the poor. 
If the State wants to do this, and crush out the liberty 
our fathers fought for, establishing a government of 
nobles, then go on, — the ice is already broken, and 
the clear and muddy water is visible. 

But, if a wiser policy is, to let the people take care 
of themselves, and the State ; leaving them free, un- 
trammeled by class legislation, trusting to the law of 
supply and demand, placing confidence where confi- 
dence belongs, with the people, taxing them for nothing 
but what is clearly right, leaving all cases of a doubt- 
ful nature where it belongs, then, and only then, shall 
we maintain in their purity, those principles which we 
love to cherish. 

AH the farmers ask is to be let alone ; let them, like 
all other trades people, and work people, manage their 
own affairs in their own way. If they want foreign 
stock, let them buy them with their own money ; and if 
they want their meadows drained, let them pay for tliis, 
also, with their own cash. 

If they do not understand their business, stop this 
legislation, and repeal the laws that degrade them, and 
they will soon learn how to do their own work, — meas- 
ure a load of wood, — drain their meadows, — slaugh- 
ter their cattle, — weigh their hay, cfec, &c. 



THE STATUTE LAWS, ETC. 229 

HOW DO FARMERS LIVE? 

It is often said that if farming did not pay, how 
woukl it be possible for the farmers to live? I have 
in another place said that it was not by their labor ; 
neither is it by their capital alone, but by the two 
combined. This is not all, for there are but compara- 
tively few farmers who have muscle enough, and capital 
enough to combine with it, to live by farming. Then 
how do they live ? This is an important question, and 
should be carefully met. 

In this country the people are proverbial for chang- 
ing from one thing and place to another. Very few 
men farm and do nothing else. In one farming town, 
I heard an observing person say that there was but one 
man in the place that lived wholly by farming. I ask 
the candid reader everywhere, how many men he knows 
who live entirely by this ? Among the 35,000 farmers 
in this State, how many are there who depend upon 
this wholly for a livelihood ? I presume not one in a 
hundred. We have seen that very many farmers are 
gradually wasting their property. On the downfall of 
these, some, taking advantage of their necessities, con- 
trive in part to live ; a few to accumulate. Many 
have sons or daughters in some kinds of business, per- 
haps in factories, stores, the trades, or the professions, 
whose earnings, in part, are occasionally put to this 
purpose. Others have a faculty of speculating in many 
little things that come in their way, on which a profit 
is made. Mechanical business often concentrates in 

some particular point, increasing the value of landed 

20 



230 FARMING AS IT IS. 

estates In the vicinity, and by this, many are made 
wealthy, and without any thought of their own, are 
relieved from the oppressor's yoke, and too often be- 
come oppressors themselves. 

Some contrive to get their hands into the treasury 
of the State by making folks beheve that they have a 
peculiar faculty of so comprehending and adjusting 
agricultural affairs, that while they benefit the non- 
producers by making farm products cheap, they help 
the farmer by persuading folks to consume what is 
produced. Any one would suppose to hear them talk, 
that they had the faculty of converting the whole pop- 
ulace into aldermen, and increase their gastronomic 
power, merely to furnish a market for the multiplied 
products of the farm. 

One man is fully satisfied that farming is profitable, 
and goes on to prove it in this wise. He says : " I 
bought a hundred sheep for $200, and after keeping 
them a few months sold them for $400. Therefore, is 
not farming profitable ?" This is the substance of the 
argument. And is the reader prepared to say from 
this that farming is a good business ? If our friend 
had raised his sheep, and reckoned fairly, then made a 
profit, that would have been an argument in favor of 
his position. But as the man of whom he purchased 
made a net loss of more than he made, it proves that 
in this instance the farmer or the producer suffered, 
while the speculator pocketed the profits. 

Another friend, in order to show that there was 
profit in keeping cows, estimates the cost of keeping 



THE STATUTE LAWS, ETC. 231 

two a year at $56.02. From these two cows he raised 
two calves, made 320 pounds butter, besides the milk 
for the family, affording a large profit. If he had 
reckoned the whole cost of producing the material 
upon which the cows were fed, he would have found, 
calling the labor one dollar per day, that his two cows 
for the year would have cost double his estimate, and 
then the profit would have been on the other side. 
Such arguments as these do not show farming to be 
profitable, but the reverse. 

Reckon labor low.enough and farms low enough, of 
course a profit can be made. But I want to see the 
standard fixed at one dollar per day, whether a man 
works on his own farm or for hire, and six per cent, on 
the capital invested, and then, and not till then, can a 
poor man live by farming. 

It has been my lot to see a good many bragging 
farmers, and it always reminds me of the boy who 
whistled to keep up his courage in going through a 
grave-yard. I have generally remarked that those 
farmers who indulged in this, were generally severely 
troubled with the shorts, and were obliged to borrow 
under difficulties. Very many of these men who 
make estimates on the profits of agriculture understand 
the philosophy of the business about as well as the 
city girl did who told her father one day that if " she 
was in his place, she would not be bothered running 
after eggs all the time ; she would buy a hen, as they 
did not want but a dozen a day, and any hen would 
lay that, she knew." It is fair to presume that this 



232 FARMING AS IT IS. 

girl had been reading Mr. Flint's Eeport, or perhaps, 
was the daughter of some of the " State street farm- 
ers," the fecundity of whose fowls and other animals 
are so notoriously prolific. The " hen fever," 'tis true, 
is among the things that were, and a hundred other 
fevers are ready to take its place. It is to be hoped, 
however, that all the originators of fancy fevers will 
not meet with the same fate. It might, however, do 
no harm to suffsest that the future executive officers 
of the State keep this case in mind, as a precedent of 
some importance to the people. 

PROFIT AND PER CENT. 

As I have many times in discussing this matter, been 
obliged to use the terms profit and per cent, or per 
centum^ and as it is quite possible that all may not un- 
derstand their import alike, I have thought an explana- 
tion here might not be wholly out of place. 

Per CENTUM is a Latin word, and means by the hun- 
dred. Ten per cent, profit, means ten dollars on the 
hundred ; the hundred being the investment, the ten 
the profit. If the investment or capital applied, is ten 
dollars, and the gross amount of sales are twenty dol- 
lars, then the per cent, is one hundred. The legal rate 
of Interest in this State is six per cent., or six dollars 
on the hundred. This all can easily obtain without 
much labor, and usually without liability to loss. This 
explains why it is that as long as farm products sell be- 
low the cost to produce them, estimating the per cent, 
on the investment, and a fair reward for the labor ; cap- 



THE STATUTE LAWS, ETC. 233 

ital will be diverted from this to other interests, and 
form property will constantly depreciate in the market. 

PiioriT. Webster defines this word thus : profit, 
" advance in price of things sold beyond the price of 
purchase ; gain ; advantage." In trade and commerce 
the word is usually considered to mean the advance in 
the sale price over that part of the expense which em- 
braces the principal items in the cost, as the raw mate- 
rial, — the labor, teaming, transportation, &c. When 
a man embraces all the items in the cost of the article, 
such as rents, interest on investment, allowing a sup- 
posed per cent, for losses, travelling expenses, postage, 
stationery, wear of tools, &c., &c., then this would be 
better defined by the prefix net, net profit. 

Thus it will be seen that the word profit is not very 
definite as indicating the success of a business. A 
man may make a large profit, and yet make a net loss. 
The rule is to figure so as not to deceive yourselves, for 
if a loss is sustained, it is highly important to know it* 
The net profit of a man's business depends quite as 
much on the amount he does, as the profit he makes. 
If he makes ten per cent, on a business of ten thousand 
dollars a year, and his private expenses are $1,100, he 
runs behind-hand one hundred dollars. If the business 
is increased to $20,000, and his private expenses to $1,- 
500, his profit being the same, would give him a net in- 
come of '$500 per year. This is what every farmer 
should understand ; to make his own figures, and let 
no man or class of men, however friendly they may 
pretend to be, cheat him out of the reasonable wants 
of life. His study should be to make his business so 



234 FARMING AS IT IS. 

remunerating that he can afford to live well, consuming 
what is necessary, the good things of his farm ; and 
when the net profit of his business will not afford this, 
it is time to pause. 

If I should say that the gross amount of sales fi'om 
all the farms in Massachusetts would not exceed f 300 
a year, on an average, over the amount paid for hired 
labor, calling as it should be, house rent, fuel, vegeta- 
bles, grain, fruit, all meats that are made from the farm, 
dairy products, &c., consumed by the family, a sale 
made, and should be placed on the credit page of the 
account ; probably no one would say that I have put 
it too low. The average value of these farms is about 
$3,100, and the stock and tools, perhaps $400.00, mak- 
ing 13,500. The interest on this sum is $210.00. 
Taxes, insurance, repairs, $50.00, making $260.00 ; 
which, taken from the gross amount of sales, would 
leave $40.00 as pay for the labor done by the family. 
This forty dollars is to buy clothing, groceries, boots 
and shoes, hats, bonnets, pay doctor's bills, parish taxes, 
&c., &c., for a family of six. 

If I am right In these calculations, and correctly im- 
derstand the meaning of the words profit and per cent., 
then farming must be both unprofitable and nearly non- 
per-cent-able. This proves conclusively that farmers do 
not live entirely by their labor, or the profits on their 
business, but by consuming what they have previously 
earned or inherited. 



THE STATUTE LAWS, ETC. 235 

TO FARMERS. 

In this connection, I want to say a word or two to 
the farmers in regard to what is best to do. It is well 
to woi'k, — to be industrious, — to be prudent, econom- 
ical, philanthropical, benevolent ; in a degree, indepen- 
dent ; having a love for your country, for your brother 
man, and the race ; in favor of liberty ; always recol- 
lecting that things are of a vast deal more importance 
than words, — the one being the name only, the other 
the living fact ; that names or words are only valuable 
when they reflect their prototypes ; intelligent, being 
booked upon aU matters pertaining to the good of the 
people ; scrutinizing closely loud professions and noisy 
declamations ; looking down deep into the motives of 
men, canvassing their professions, solicitations and ex- 
pressions. This is precept. Now for the practice. 

When an all-wise Providence placed man upon the 
earth, with mental and physical powers and capacities, 
and said, " In the sweat of your face shall you eat 
bread," he meant for you to use those powers and fac- 
ulties for your good. Therefore, we are just as much 
bound to use the mental as the physical, to make pro- 
vision for the wants of life. And as no man can live 
wholly by himself, but must, in a degree, depend upon 
each other ; therefore, when we exchange labor for the 
end for which we toil, let effort, capacity, ability and 
reward, be as nearly mutual as possible. To this end, 
I have laid down as a rule in this book, and upon this 
I am willing to stand or fall, to sink or swim, as a max- 
im, that a reasonable day's work, the year round, shall 



236 FARMING AS IT IS. 

bring one dollar. Then, as all farmers have more or 
less property, I have claimed that this should pay an 
annual dividend of six per cent. Now the question is, 
how shall this be brought about ? Because we have 
seen that, allowing farm capital to pay this per cent., it 
leaves but a trifle for labor. I presume that all farmers 
will say that this would be a good thing, but ! but ! 
that is the rub ; that hut. Now let us see how this is. 
Our capital must pay us six per cent., that is settled, 
and we must know how to get it. City folks generally 
manage to get more than this ; at any rate, they get all 
they can, and grow fat upon it, and make their calcu- 
lations as much for the earnings of capital, as their 
hands or heads. 

They would consider it highly insulting for the farm- 
ers to presume to dictate to them in regard to this or 
any other interest. If the thing was thought of, an- 
other tea-party would be on the tapis at once. Let us 
pay as much attention to the culture of our minds, and 
as judicious a training for our children, as we have to 
our farms and steers, and frown upon every attempt of 
any party to dictate to us upon any matter ; then, pre- 
sumptive, indeed, would be that man who attempted 
any thing of the kind. 

All must have the products of the farm ; then let us 
earn in supplying them, sufficient to meet the reason- 
able wants of life, or cease the supply. Undoubtedly 
thei'e are some who in their hearts object to this, but 
no one, I presume, is brassy enough to say so. 

Farming being an extremely hazardous business. 



THE STATUTE LAWS, ETC. 237 

therefore, It will not do, when we get a paying crop or 
product, to apply the rules of arithmetic to it, and mul- 
tiply the presumed profits beyond the surmise of the 
most credulous, then proclaim it upon the "house-tops," 
to the injury of all producers, and the advantage of 
none but the sharpers and genteel aristocrats who bask 
in the sunshine of the public crib. 

It is often said that poor farming will not pay. The 
fancy of late, are very unanimous in this idea. It 
seems to be a fortunate thought, that is hailed with 
great gusto, as furnishing a powerful argument to op- 
press labor. " Poor farming will not pay." Mr. Fay 
says this in his letter, on page 199. Many others use 
the same language. Mr. Brown, Mr. Boutwell, Dr. 
Loring, and most " treasury farmers,^'' embrace the 
idea with the tenacity of a wild-cat. " Poor farming 
does not pay." An editor out in Connecticut, says 
that Mr. Pinkham's farming is nothing to go by, " but 
farming on the average." That is true, my farming is 
nothing to go by, but farming in general. That is what 
I am talking about. And if this editor had stuck to 
truth and right in all he said, as well as in this, know- 
ing what he was talking about, he would not have con- 
sidered " manufactured articles " Agricultural pro- 
ducts, or reckoned those in with the earnings of the 
farmers. Neither a large proportion of the animals 
slaughtered in Connecticut would he place to the 
credit of the farmers of his State. 

"Poor farming docs not pay." Mr. Pinkham's 
farming does not pay, and that is nothing to go by. 



238 FARMING AS IT IS. 

" but farming on the average." That Is just the point 
I wish to meet. If poor farming does not pay, what 
farming docs pay ? That is the question. Mr. Fay 
says that his farming " is not expected to pay." His 
is too good, mine is too bad. Mr. Brown says he does 
not know whether his pays or not. Mr. Boutwell says 
he has farmed but about six years, and he wants more 
time. He thinks that some kinds of farming; can be 
made to pay, but is not sure. Let me kindly say to 
Mr. Boutwell that when he learns that buying cows and 
cow food, and selling their products, is not farming, but 
speculation ; and when he has tried this for another six 
years, " keeping the accounts " all the time, he will find 
that the best cow he has milked will be the one that is 
not fed on meadow hay and grain, but that noble milk- 
ing animal that is fed by the toil of an injured and 
meanly rewarded populace. 

" Poor farming does not pay." Does good farming 
pay ? Who can find an affirmative answer to this 
question ? Did the State farm at Westboro', under the 
direction of that noble and disinterested body of men, 
who worked for nought in their love for the dear peo- 
ple, pay ? Had it not have been for the milk drawn 
from that extra milking cow that does not soil genteel 
hands, would the Board in their philanthrophy have 
thought it for the public good, at great sacrifices, to 
have been so constant at the milking bee ? Strip ! 
Strip ! ! . Strip ! ! ! Who says farming does not pay ? 

Farming : the practice of tilling land. — Wehster. 

Farming : the practice of tilling the public chest. — 
Board of Agriculture. 



THE STATUTE LAWS, ETC. 239 

Perhaps all farmers do not read the papers, and for 
this reason, and as a souvenir, I have thought it well 
to transcribe to these pages a few extracts from agri- 
cultural literature. The following is taken from an 
editorial of Governor Brown's. The article is headed, 

JUBILEE ! THE YEAR OF REDEMPTION IS AT HAND ! 

"The sufferers have been turned out upon the merest 
technicalities of law, scourged with the bitter taunt 
that thej once had a year of grace, but did not im- 
prove it, or their opponents, squat in the charnel-house 
and amid the dead bones of a breathless and rotten 
corporation, would shake a musty old parchment in 
their faces, and declare that they held a chartered right 
for their ungodly power ! " 

The Governor is congratulating himself and a few 
owners of the meadows on Concord and Sudbury riv- 
ers, on the success of their long cherished plans to get 
a law by which the people's money could be filched 
from them to drain their lands on these rivers. I have 
spoken of this elsewhere, and shall make no comments 
here, but simply ask the farmers what they think of 
it ? how they like the language, the spirit, the senti- 
ment, and the principle and precedent f 

The above extract was taken from the leading edito- 
rial of the Governor's, dated April 28, 1860, 

From the same paper, dated June 16, 1860, and 
written by an associate editor, (Judge French,) on the 
"cattle disease." I take this extract, and simply remark 
here to the farmer to note how these men speak when 
at home, and not in the farmer's clubs in the country, 
talking about the honest, independent, and intelligent 
yeomanry. 



240 FARMING AS IT IS. 

" It requires some equanimity to hear with serenity 
the stupidity of a portion of the community, wlio ought 
either to inform themselves, or hold their peace on this 
vital question. Stupidity is undoubtedly the unpar- 
donable sin. A lively, wide-awake, progressive sin- 
ner, we have some hope of; but a dogged, mulish, 
thick-hided old fogy, who rolls himself up in a heap, 
like a porcupine, shuts his eyes, and sticks out his 
quills in all directions, deserves such treatment as John 
Quincy Adams advocated for the Chinese : a little 
smell of fire and gunpowder, or one of its ingredients, 
to bring him into sympathy with the breathing, mov- 
ing world." 

I here place on record, also, five sections of one of 
the bills passed by the Pleuro Legislature, in regard 
to the subject upon which Judge French thinks the 
farmers are so " dogged^ mulish^ thick-hided^ old 
fogies^'' &c., &c. 

/Sect. 8. Whoever shall drive or transport any cat- 
tle from any portion of the Commonwealth east of 
Connecticut river to any part west of said river before 
the first day of April next, Avithout consent of the 
commissioners, shall be punished by fine not exceeding 
five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment in the county 
jail not exceeding one year. 

Sect. 9. Whoever shall drive or transport any cat- 
tle from any portion of the Commonwealth into any 
other State before the first day of April next, without 
the consent of the commissioners, shall be punished by 
fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, or by impris- 
onment in the county jail not exceeding one year. 

Sect. 10. If any person fails to comply with any 
regulation made, or with any order given by tlie com- 
missioners, he shall be ])unislied by fine not exceeding 
five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding 
one vear. 



THE STATUTE LAWS, ETC. 241 

Sect. 11. Prosecutions under the two preceding 
sections may be prosecuted in any county in this Com- 
monwealth. 

Sect. 12. All appraisals made under this act shall 
be in writing, and signed by the appraisers and certi- 
fied by the commissioners, and shall be by them trans- 
mitted to the Governor and Council, and to the treas- 
urers of the several cities and towns wherein the cattle 
appraised were kept. 

It seems by this act that a farmer in the western 
part of the State cannot drive his cattle to pasture, if 
he has to cross the Connecticut river, without consent 
of the commissioners. Neither can we in any section 
of the State cross the line of the State for the same 
purpose. 

Why not ask the selectmen of the town, or the town 
physician ? Are they not supposed to be men of some 
judgment and intelligence, or does the Board of Agri- 
culture monopolize all of these requisites ? If I have 
read the papers correctly, they have not guessed much 
better than other folks might. I have thought some 
times not quite as well. And certainly their public acts 
and their avowed principles do not show that they 
have either better judgment, more intelligence or in- 
tegrity than others ; and if this is a fact, then I have 
failed to read individual character, sagacity, human- 
ity and public spirit in them correctly. 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE COST OF FAEM PRODUCTS. 

A Remedy for the Evils thnt Exist — The Old Nations Oppressing Labor 
— A Hungry Man and the Breakfast Table — Material in the World to 
Produce Animal or Plant Life— The Farmers "Want to Sell Out — 
Double the Value of Farm Property in Ten Years— The Wants of the 
People that Gives Value to Property — The Action of the Atmosphere 
Upon Plant Life — Table of Equivalents— Table of Cost of Material 
out of which Crops are Made — The actual Cost of a Corn Crop— One 
Year at Farming — Columbus and his Outfit — The Products of Massa- 
chusetts — Forty Bushels of Grain for Each Inhabitant— The Tailor 
and the Farmer — Neat Stock — A Fancy Yoke of Oxen — Milk Making 
—A Cow is a Mill— The Cost of Milk— Definition of Farming— The 
Cost of a Cow — The Cost of Keeping a Cow— Pork Making— Barn- 
yard Fowl — Swine in the United States — Pork Exported— The Cost 
of Beef— The Cattle Markets—Stall Feeding— The Cost of Oxen- 
How to Reckon Their Value — The Wood Crop — How to Estimate its 
Cost — The Cost of Farm Products Divided into Three Parts — Crops 
at the West. 

In the preceding chapters I have spoken freely in 
regard to the actual condition of the farmers and farm- 
ing. My object has been to state the case truly, as I 
understand it. In the investigation and consultation 
of authors, as I have progressed in the work, and from 
all that I can learn from whatever source, in my cor- 
respondence with such farmers as I supposed have been 
mostly observant of the workings of the labor interest 
upon the people ; all have confirmed more strongly the 
views I have entertained in the matter. 

242 



COST OF FARM PRODUCTS. 243 

What now remains to be done is to seek out a rem- 
edy for the evils that exist ; because, if there was no 
remedy, then it would have been better not to have 
said anything upon the subject. I shall, therefore, in 
those chapters that are to succeed, endeavor to devise 
some means by which these wrongs can be righted. 
As, in the history of nations, we have taken new 
ground, and stand out boldly before the world in our 
dechirations, in our laws, in our institutions, religious, 
educational and love of freedom, let us not fall into the 
great error of the old countries, of oppressing and de- 
frauding labor. But rather let us strive to stand aloof 
from and profit by the precedents that are before us, 
and seek to leave all our industrial institutions free, 
trusting to the law of supply and demand to supply 
all our wants, as no people or classes of people, can 
for long series of years, under oppression of laws and 
customs, maintain that independence of thought and 
action which in a true sense go to make a nation great. 
^^Avdi alteram partem.^^ Hear the other side. 

Without going any further into the preliminaries, I 
will proceed to examine the subject under considera- 
tion. This I consider the most important part of the 
investigation — The cost of what we produce. 
As well might a merchant, a manufacturer, or a me- 
chanic expect to succeed by selling their goods for the 
most they can get, without any knowledge of the cost, 
as the farmer. 

Therefore, I want to say so much about this, and 
say it in such a way, that it will be just as easy to 



244 TARMING AS IT IS. 

know what our crops cost, as it Is for a hungry man to 
know what to do when he sits down to the breakfast 
table. 

Unless we know this, we cannot know how to econ- 
omise either in capital or labor, — when to add or sub- 
tract, — what we can afford to pay for this or that, 
all is confusion and doubt. But when we can tell in 
one or two minutes what any article costs, — an ox, a 
horse, a cow, a ton of hay, a bushel of grain, or any 
other crop, then all is clear and satisfactory. In farm- 
ing, as in law, wherever there is a doubt, let it be con- 
strued in favor of, and not against labor. If occasion- 
ally we get an extra crop, or an extra animal, it will 
not do to reckon all by this. For to make a good ani- 
mal or a good crop it always requires more food than 
it does to make a poor one. As animal or plant food 
is capital or past labor, therefore to consume these 
without any adequate compensation, is wasting what 
has already been earned. 

There is just the same amount of material in the 
world now that there ever was, to produce plant or 
animal life. This can neither be increased nor dimin- 
ished. Although our soils can easily be exhausted, 
and rendered so barren that they cease to produce, yet, 
if by disposing of this plant or animal food, the return 
is sufficient to replace them, and allowing for the labor 
to do so, then no loss is sustained. Otherwise, to dis- 
pose of the products at a cost of the labor merely, not 
calling the material of which the product is made any- 
thing, would be hke a tailor selling his garments for a 



COST OF FARM PRODUCTS. 245 

price only sulBficient to pay the Labor bill, throwing 
away the cloth or material of which they are com- 
posed. If the farmers constantly dispose of their pro- 
ducts at a loss, they alone are not the sufferers, but 
they are throwing their labor into the market at so low 
a rate that others are obliged to come down to their 
standard, thereby not only selling their labor at a price 
that affords but a meagre support, but reducing the 
value of what they have previously earned or inher- 
ited. For if farm products are low, so are farms. As 
long as the people can buy what they want' at half the 
cost to produce it, they would be fools to invest in the 
business. This is just the state of things that now 
exist. About every other farmer wants to sell out 
in this section of the country, — undoubtedly in many 
others, and they can find nobody who wants to buy. 
Why is this ? Because, as I have just intimated, that 
the business is not remunerating. Therefore, men will 
not risk their previous earnings, and hazard their fu- 
ture, upon so doubtful an enterprise. Let four-fifths 
of aU farm products be sold at a price that will yield 
one dollar per day for the labor to produce it, and six 
per cent, on the capital invested, and we double thd 
price of farm property in ten years. 

Calling the value of farm property in this State 
$150,000,000, in ten years let it be $300,000,000, and 
who are the sufferers ? It is true it would cost more 
to live than it now does ; but all must recollect that it 
is not the high cost of living that is an evil, but the 
evil only is, when industry fails to supply that cost. 



246 FARMING AS IT IS. 

I am well aware that the present price of farm pro- 
ducts to many seems high. I think it safe to say that, 
take all farm produce, the consumers pay double what 
the farmers realize. The principal reason for this is, 
that we send or drive our children to the cities and 
then transport there the material for them to live upon. 
The evils of this system to the farmers is almost incal- 
culable ; for all must be aware that it is the wants of 
the people that gives value to property. Reduce the 
population and industry of any locality and you reduce 
the value of the property in the same proportion ; and 
vice versa. This being so, then how plain the reason 
for the evils that exist. 

We will now proceed to the solution of the prob- 
lem, how to ascertain the cost of farm products ? In 
another place we have shown by a close mode of 
reasoning, the cost of that kind of fertilizer to which 
the farmers are mostly indebted for the material of 
which their crops are made. It was also shown that 
by actual experiment this was found to be very nearly 
correct. As the cost of the material of which crops 
are made depends as much upon the value of the labor 
as the crop itself, therefore the reader must bear in 
mind the standard, which no one will say, I think, 
ought to be reduced. 

Before going more particularly into the examination 
of this, it will be well to explain, as I understand 
it, the action of the atmosphere upon plant and animal 
life. Many have supposed it possible to manufacture 
crops out of the material that floats in, or of the air 



COST OF TARM PEODUCTS. 247 

we breathe. That some soils are capable of producing 
crops without being fertilized for that particular crop, 
we every day see demonstrated. But, that a crop can 
be removed from the soil without detriment to it, is an 
impossibility. Because, if sufficient time elapses for 
the atmosphere to reinstate the soil to its former fer- 
tility, then the per cent, on the investment is a total 
loss for the time being. That a small per cent, of 
crops are made from the material that floats in the at- 
mosphere, is not questioned. But it must be recol- 
lected that the ammonia from whence the most of this 
fertihty springs, is but the gasses that are constantly 
escaping from aU vegetable and animal life and decom- 
position, and the farmer is supposed to lose as much as 
he gains by this. 

Therefore, our interest and policy is, to fix as much 
as possible all those gases upon the farm, yet those that 
actually do escape cannot be said to be an actual loss, 
because they will rest somewhere. In the rains, snows 
and dews, also, there are some plant food, but the prin- 
cipal action of these are in a mechanical way, prepar- 
ing the food for the plant. 

Now we are prepared to ascertain the cost of our 
goods. If the material of which a bushel of corn is 
made, as we have before seen, costs 43 cents, it will 
then be easy to ascertain the whole cost of this and all 
other crops. 

I want to remark here, however, that most tables of 
practical equivalents, either by actual experiments or 
chemical analyses, greatly vary. This is not at all sur- 
prising, since most plants or grains of the same kind 



248 FARMmO AS IT IS. 

have a variable intrinsic value. This depends very 
much on the soil and the season. Also on the condition 
in which they were cured. Old hay, ail things being 
equal, has more nutriment than new hay, weight for 
weight. The more water a plant contains to the solid 
matter, the less nutriment. Thus it will be seen that a 
good degree of judgment is to be used, in a proper un- 
derstanding of the subject. 

The following table of comparative value of different 
kinds of cattle fodder, is translated by the Rev. Mr. 
Eham, from the French of M. Autoine : 

Good Hay 100 pounds. 

are equal in nourishment to latter-math, or 

second crop 102 " 

Clover Hay, cut in the blossom 90 " 

* Meadow or Swale Hay 300 " 

Green Clover 410 " 

Green Indian Corn 275 " 

Beet Root Leaves 600 " 

Potato Halm 300 " 

Eye Straw 442 " 

Oat Straw 195 " 

Pea Straw 153 " 

Bean Straw 140 " 

Buckwheat Straw 195 " 

Dried Stalks of Indian Corn 400 " 

Millet Straw 250 « 

Raw Potatoes 201 " 

Boiled Potatoes 175 •' 

White Silesian Beet 220 " 

Mangold Wurzel .. 339 " 

Turnips 504 " 

Carrots 276 " 

Rye, Grain 54 " 

Wheat, Grain 45 " 

Barley, Grain. 54 " 

Oats, Grain 59 " 

Peas, 45 " 

Beans, 45 " 

Buckwheat, Grain 64 " 

Indian Corn, Grain 57 " 

* This is from actual experimenting, and not chemioal analysis. 



COST OF FARM PRODUCTS. 249 

COST OF FERTILIZERS, OR THE RAW MATERIAL. 

If these figures are a tolerable approximation to the 
actual facts, then would it not be fair to assume that if 
a hundred pounds of English hay is equal to a bushel 
of 5Q pounds of Indian corn, and the raw material of 
which the com is made costs 43 cents, that the 100 
pounds of hay costs the same for the material out of 
which it is made. According to this mode of reason- 
ing, 

The Material for a Ton of English Hay -would cost. . $8.60 

•' " " " Green Clover Hay, " 2.10 

" " « " Green Indian Corn Stalks 3.12 

" •' " " Beet Root Leaves " 1.43 

" " " " Potatoe Halm " 2.86 

«' " " " Rye Straw " 1.94 

« " " " Oat Straw « 4.41 

" " " " Pea Straw " 5.62 

*' " " " Swale, or Meadow Hay " 2.86S 

" " " " Bean Straw '« 6.14 

" " " " Buckwheat Straw " 4.41 

" «' « " Dried Stalks of Indian Corn 2.15 

" " « " Millet Straw " 3.41 

" " " Bushel, or 60 pounds of Potatoes ,12 

« " " " 40 " White Silesian Beet .08 

" " » " 40 " Mangold Wui-tzel .05 

" " " '« 40 '• Com. Turnips .03^ 

«« « " " 40 " Carrots .06i 

« " <' " 66 " Rye, Grain .44 1 

« " " " 60 'i Wheat .57 i 

" « «' " 46 " Barley .36| 

« " '« " 32 " Oats .23| 

" " " " 60 " Peas or Beans .57^ 

« " " " 40 " Buckwheat .26 § 

" " " " 56 " Indian Corn .42 J 

If I were asked why I did not reckon this cost of 
manure by chemical analysis rather than by the nutri- 

tThis kind of hay is usually obtained without the use of manure; 
yet, t find that most meadows that have for a long time been cropped, 
are failing. 



250 FARMING AS IT IS. 

tlve value or practical equivalents, I should answer that 
the result would be nearly the same, and this Is much 
more easily understood by most farmers. I do not pre- 
tend that these figures are just right ; in fact, no set of 
figures can be made to suit all cases, for the cost of the 
manure or material of which crops are made, Is con- 
trolled by circumstances, such as the price of labor, &c., 
same as the crops themselves. That the principle is 
right, there is no doubt. And that the figures are an 
approximation to the facts, it seems to me, from obser- 
vation and investigation, are equally true. 

If the reader understands what is here written, how 
perfectly plain and clear the principle of vegetation will 
seem, when before, it has been shrouded in uncertainty, 
or what some term, luck. 

Suppose, now, we reckon up the cost of an acre of 

com. 

Acre of Com. Br. 

To 23 days work of men and team at $1.00 $23.00 

' interest on land and taxes 3.50 

' fencing and rents 3.00 

' use of tools, line, and scare crows 3.00 

' raw material to make 40 bushels grain 16.88 

' " " " 1^ tons stallis 4.68 



$54.06 
Acre of Com. Cr. 

By 40 bushels shelled corn at $1.04 $41.60 

" U tons corn fodder at $6.15 10.22 



$51.82 
Net loss 2.24 



COST OF FARM PRODUCTS. 251 

If this loss looks hard and discouraging, all there is 
to do, is to put the labor bill down to 75 cents per day, 
and then a profit is made. If this latter will not pay 
the family expenses, then the excess must come out of 
the capital or past earnings, as is the common practice. 

It will be seen that by this system all can know how 
things are going, for if a man is going behind hand, 
the quicker he finds it out, the better. Although indi- 
viduals may profit by a neighbor's downfall, yet com- 
munity suffers. If the farmers of our country could 
make a small profit on a majority of their operations, 
so that the profit would be greater than their losses, 
making a net profit, this would increase the wealth, 
prosperity and happiness of the people more than all 
the gold of a dozen Californias. 

According to the present system of figuring the cost 
of farm products, when a profit Is made to appear, it 
Is often owing to a deceptive way of reckoning ; for 
if we reckon the cost of the fertilizer by the amount 
applied and not by the amount taken off, and we take 
much and apply little, then we take from the soil, put 
it in the pocket, and call this making money ; when in 
fact, it is only changing it from one pocket to the other. 
And as this so-called profit is used for the ordinary ex- 
penses, hence the great deterioration of the soil, the 
depreciation of farms, the exodus of the young men 
to distant places, and the general unthrlftiness of farm- 
ing communities. With just as much propriety might 
the grocer estimate the amount of his sales by the 
week, and not by the actual amount sold, — the banker 



252 FAEMING AS IT IS. 

his notes by the square yard, as to reckon the cost of 

the matei-ial of which crops are made by the acre, or 

the amount apphed. If a man puts ten dollars in his 

purse and takes out five, it is fair to presume that five 

remains. But if he puts in five and takes out ten, 

then it is equally fair to presume that five were there 

before. And what a fool he would be considered, if he 

hopped up and down, published it from " Dan to Beer- 

sheba," that he had made five dollars, or one hundred 

per cent profit, when in fact, he had only brought it to 

the light of the sun, the reflection of which was so 

much brighter than his vision, that it fairly crazed him. 

In order to become familiar with the slate and pencil, 

or figuring, suppose we take a farm and carry it on one 

year, and see what kind of a scrape that will get us 

into. 

Farm. Dr. 

To interest on capital, ($4,000) $240.00 

" " " in stock, ($500) 30.00 

" taxes and insurance 25.00 

" depreciation of buildings 50-00 

" interest and wear of tools 20.00 

" labor of self and wife 400.00 

" depreciation in value of horse 10.00 

" hired man six months and board 150.00 

$915.00 

Farm. Cr^ 

By house rent $100.00 

" fuel, standing 15.00 

" milk sold 200.00 

" vegetaljles sold ^. 50.00 

" fruit sold I 50.00 

" hay sold 40.00 

" vegetables used in family 25.00 

" milk " " 20.00 

" two hogs 40.00 



COST OF FARM PRODUCTS. 253 

By increased value of stock 100.00 

" " " wood 25.00 

$065.00 
Net loss $250.00 

If the farmers will carefully look these figures over, 
I think they will admit that but few farms of this value 
and amount of help, will show a larger amount of 
sales, and yet it seems we have failed to meet expenses 
by the whole amount of the per cent, on the capital 
of the real estate and ten dollars besides. In fact, I 
do not suppose that one farmer in a hundred ever ex- 
pects to get any per cent, on his capital. The last item 
but one on the credit side, in nine cases out of ten, 
should be struck out entirely, where this amount of 
milk is sold. Often it should be put to the debtor side, 
on milk farms, as most milk raisers expect to have 
their cows depreciate in value. This would increase 
the loss to 1350. 

All those items on the debtor side but the labor bill 
after deducting house rent, amounting to $275, should 
be reckoned into the cost of each and all the crops, with 
the manure or raw material, jpro rata^ and the receipts 
above these items only would go to pay for the labor, 
just the same as a manufacturer reckons his rents, travel- 
ling expenses, &c., into the cost of his goods. I know 
that the amount of sales from any ordinary farm are so 
small, comparatively, that this makes a large item, as 
in the above instance, making more than 33 per cent, 
of the cost of each article, in the per cent, on the cap- 
ital, depreciation of buildings, taxes, insurance, tools. 



254 FAEMIXG AS IT IS. 

&c. All tliese things every farmer and all business 
men have to account for, and if they cannot get them 
as profit on the sale of their goods or products above 
the raw material and the labor, then the capital has to 
suffer. Now we can readily understand why it is that 
farmers are gradually running themselves out, (dwin- 
dling^ in commercial parlance,) unless they have out- 
side success. 

According to the above figures, about 75 per cent, 
of the total amount of sales goes to pay for the items 
noticed above, and 25 per cent, for the labor. The 
tailor, the hatter, the shoemaker, the blacksmith, the 
carpenter, &c., usually get about 50 per cent, on the 
gross amount of sales for the labor bill. The lawyer, 
the doctor, the clergyman, the legislator, receive more 
than 90 per cent, of all their receipts for their labor. 
The reader will be careful not to confound present with 
past labor. One is capital, the other present earnings 
or wages. It is a principle engrafted into the economy 
of all civilized nations, that past earnings should work 
in conjunction with labor, to lessen the burdens of the 
people. Thus we see that the value of a medium farm, 
with stock, tools, &c., if properly invested, would earn 
as much as a man. This is where farmers are com- 
mitting a great error. They couple the earnings of 
their capital with their labor, for a livelihood ; whereas, 
a man without capital, and fair judgment, will earn a 
better living by his labor alone. And the farmer, un- 
intentionally, but really, by uniting the two, (capital 
and labor,) is doing all he can to prevent the other 
(labor) from doing this. 



COST OF FARM PRODUCTS. 255 

Assuming the above figures to be correct, or nearly 
80, let us see what it costs to make some of the most 
common crops. Take, for instance, a ton of English 
hay. 

Cost of Hay per ton. Dr. 

To raw material $8.60 

" per cent, on capital, rents, &c., &c 5.00 



$13.00 

If this can be sold for $15, we get $1.40 for our 
labor. But if it will bring f 20, it will increase the 
cost to $15.26, leaving as pay for the labor, $4.74. 

Cost of Com per bushel. Dr. 

To raw material 42 

" per cent, on capital, rents, &c., &c 33 

.75 

If this can be- sold for $1, it would give as pay for 
the labor, 25 cents per bushel. 

Cost of Wheat per bushel. Dr. 

To raw material 57 

" per cent, on capital, rents, &c., &c 50 

$1.07 

If this can be sold for $1.50, it would leave for the 

labor, 43 cents per bushel. 

Cost of Carrots per bushel. Dr. 

To raw material per bushel , 06 

•• " per cent, on the capital, rents, &c., &c 05 

.11 

If carrots can be sold for 15 cents per bushel, it 
would leave for the labor, 4 cents per bushel. 



256 FARMING AS IT IS. 

Thus it will be seen, that by a proper knowledge of 
the business, it is just as easy to calculate the cost of a 
farm croji, as it is the cost of the shoe or coat crop. 
It must be borne in mind that I have made no calcula- 
tion on hazard, accidents, or calamities, such as frosts, 
hurricanes, potatoe rot, weevil, squirrels, crows, &c. 
If this business is more hazardous than some others, 
then a larger margin must be left, as no man can do a 
hazardous business for the same per cent, he can a safe 
one. Thus, a merchant who is engaged in the tropical 
fruit business, cannot do it for the same per cent, he 
can the grain business. Another idea is, that if we 
apply the raw material for a large crop, and from some 
unforeseen cause a small crop only is taken off, our 
material is not lost. It is there for another crop. The 
labor and per cent, may be wholly or in part lost. 
That is all, or nearly so, although some soils will waste 
more than others. I know many suppose that the ma- 
nure will work down through some soils, out of the 
way of plant roots. It is possible this may be the case 
in a very coarse, loose soil, to some extent. But all 
sub-soils that I have noticed appear to be entirely free 
from this. It is the office of the soil to absorb >and 
hold plant food until called upon to give it up. And 
although water will pass down through the soil, yet 
I think it will not be able to take with it much that 
is valuable as a fertilizer. 

I might extend these calculations to all the crops 
raised, but think they have been sufficiently extended 
to give the reader a knowledge of the principle, and as 



COST OP FARM PRODUCTS, 257 

but few farmers can produce all or any crops at an 
equal cost, it will be better for each to figure for them- 
selves. On some farms, a smaller per cent, than this 
should be reckoned, but on most farms, a larger must. 
For, where there is one farm where the gross amount 
of sales is more than three times the per cent, on the 
capital and depreciation, there are ten where it is less. 
It will not do for a man to say that his farm did not 
cost him anything ; therefore we should reckon no per 
cent., for somebody had to earn it, and because he has 
been more fortunate than others, it is no reason why he 
should try to prevent others from doing what some 
one has done for him. Recollect that the soil of itself, 
has no money value any more than the air. If it were 
possible to fence this oif, and fix a price upon it, it 
would be done. When Columbus first set his foot up- 
on this soil, the whole country could not have been sold 
for enough to have paid for the out-fit. Yet then the 
soil was capable of as great a production as it is to- 
day. 

It is the people that make the value to all property. 
Not only to the soil, but the products of it. What the 
people require they will pay for, and no more. Of 
what use is it to increase the products of the soil three 
or four times beyond the wants of the people ? They 
can only use so much. The surplus is used to cheapen 
what is wanted. Massachusetts produces nearly grain 
enough to feed her citizens, yet she imports twice as 
much as she makes. Why is this ? Because the West 
are making paupers of themselves and their posterity, 



258 FARMING AS IT IS. 

by sending to the East the requisites for future pro- 
duction, at a price that gives them no return to keep 
up the condition of their soil, thereby making and 
keeping them poor, and the land poorer. 

There are more than 40 bushels of grain produced 
in the United States for each of her inhabitants. This 
is more than three times what is wanted for actual con- 
sumption. A full grown person may require ten bush- 
els of graiii per year : certainly not more than this. 
But calling 20 bushels to each person, allowing this to 
make all the meat and for brewing, for all purposes, and 
we have 400,000,000 bushels surplus, to hang like an 
incubus upon the necks of the people. If we could 
transport from our fields the crops, and not impoverish 
them, it would be different, but as we have got to re- 
turn, either sooner or later, all that we take away, then 
the evil is evident. 

If a tailor sold his coats, &c., for the cost of the 
labor only, without reckoning for the cloths and small 
articles, soon he would have no capital to buy cloths, 
&c., with. The time it would take to bring about this 
result, would be governed by the amount of his busi- 
ness, and the length of his purse, 

PHILOSOPHY OF AGRICULTURE. 

In other parts of this work, I have said, in substance, 
what I intend to say here. Possibly I have not been 
understood. It is a well known principle of nature's 
economy, that no matter is lost. In all the various pro- 
cesses of growth or decay, this principle holds good. 



COST OF FAEM PRODUCTS. 259 

At the creation, before the rocks had become disente- 
grated, there existed the same principles of plant and 
animal growth that now exist. This law will hold good 
as long as the world stands. If we extract from the 
soil all the principles of vegetation, and transport it to 
the sea, yet this principle or law would still hold good, 
although this might depopulate the earth for a time ; 
yet, in the elapse of ages, by the well known principle 
of nature's laws and chemical changes, that are con- 
stantly going on, the sea would give up this material to 
the earth, and vegetable and animal life would again 
appear. Nature, in all her laws, aims to perfection. 
The process, it is true, is slow, as we reckon time, but 
recollect that all our anxieties and difficulties exist only 
as we conflict Avith these principles. 

A plant germinates, vegetates, grows and expands 
being fed by the decomposition of other plants, till this 
gives way to the laws of vegetation and plant life, add- 
ing by each successive rotation a larger amount of 
food for subsequent products, till a luxurious growth is 
obtained ; every year adding new or increased fertihty 
to the soil. Then man begins to take away for his or 
his neighbor's consumption, the matei'ial that the next 
crop requires to feed upon, and in a few successive 
years, robs the soil of those very principles that are 
necessary to sustain plant life ; and then he complains 
that his soil is exhausted. In all this there would be 
no loss, if he had been sufficiently wise to have ex- 
changed this substance for its equivalent, so that he 
could return to the soil that he had taken away, with 
sufficient additional recompense to pay for the labor in 



260 FARMING AS IT IS. 

both taking from and returning to It, the elements, to 
reproduce that which he had taken. 

This, in brief, is the farmer's great mistake. When- 
ever we look upon the waving grass that is ripe and fit 
for the harvest, the first question should be, can we re- 
move this from the soil and sell It for a price sufficient 
to return an equal amount as a fertilizer, and pay us 
for the labor, by so doing ? If not, then let It remain, 
as nature can In no particular be defrauded, and not be 
cognizant of the fact. By the removal. It might be ex- 
changed for ready cash ; so might the clothes upon your 
back, and there would be about as much good sense In 
the one as the other. A bare soil and a bare back are 
somewhat analogous ; the one the cause, the other the 
effect, which Is as sure to follow, as the gout Is an al- 
derman. 

NEAT STOCK. 

Domestic animals are sometimes a blessing, often a 
curse, to the owner. They are good and useful just so 
far as they administer to our wants and happiness. 
But when they become so numerous that the receipts 
from them yield but little return for the labor to rear 
and keep them, then they are a curse. They are like 
the leprosy eating out our very vitals. But few men 
who have not kept a careful record of expense and in- 
come, are aware of the enormous drain upon our re- 
sources, when they get the mastery. Not one man, 
yea, not one farmer In a hundred are aware of the cost 
to grow up an ox or a cow. One of the great and fun- 
damental errors of the age is, that we cannot keep up 
the fertilitv of the soil without domestic animals. 



COST OF FARM PRODUCTS. 261 

These are often tlie cause of the deterioration of the 
soil. Without animals of any class, from mineral and 
vegetable matter alone, the soil obtains any required 
state of fertility. I presume that a given quantity of 
hay left upon the soil, would fertilize it as much as the 
same amount removed, fed to animals and the whole 
returned to the soil in their manures. And as there is 
always some loss attending an operation of this kind, 
and as the labor to do this is great, therefore, unless 
the o-rowth or the income of the animal in some way 
pays for this labor, how absurd it is to throw it away, 
when perhaps the family need its reward. 

Thousands of families are to-day in want of the very 
means for encouragement and support, that goes to sus- 
tain a large surplus of domestic animals, without any 
hope of reward. To such an extent has the idea ob- 
tained among the people, that a fancy yoke of oxen 
will enlist the admiration of the populace, when the 
man who reared them is neglected and abhorred. A 
fast horse, a yoke of fancy oxen, a splendid specimen 
of a cow, or a mammoth pig, are far greater objects of 
admiration, thought and eclat, than man. While the 
former are lionized and surfeited to repletion, the latter 
is neo-lected, worked to excess, and uncared for. 

In passing t':' rough one of the interior towns In a 
neio-hboring State, I came to what had once been a 
tolerable homestead. The soil was pretty good, but 
the buildings, the fences, the trees, were in a deplor- 
able plight. The bam set nearly in a straight line be- 
tween the road and house, and like the house, was in 



262 FARMING AS IT IS. 

a dilapidated condition. The shingles were dropping 
from the roof, the boards from the walls, the doors from 
their pailings, and all in all, it was one of the most 
complete wrecks that one could conceive of for a habi- 
tation for man. On the sunny side of the house, were 
more than half a dozen uncombed, unwashed, bare- 
footed and bare-leo-ofed children, with their hair stream- 
ing in the bi'ceze, as the frost played such pranks with 
their toes, that they were obliged to keep upon the 
move. As I was looking upon the scene before me, the 
thought occurred in my mind, that this man was either 
a rum guzzler, or he had a fancy yoke of oxen. One 
of the two I thought must be true. To prove it, I 
reined up my horse, and in passing between the house 
and barn, heard voices in the latter. One of the older 
children ran up to the wagon and asked me if " I should 
like to see the oxen." I asked if they had a yoke of 
oxen. " I guess you'd think so if you should see 
them." Stepping from the wagon into the barn, I saw 
at a glance how things were. The old gentleman and 
the old lady were there ; only they were not old save in 
care, toil and anxiety. At one end of the leanto stood 
three half-fed cows, with the cold wind from the open 
spaces in the sides of the bai'n, piercing their frames, 
and appeared to be entirely innocent of card or brush, 
or any thing but the coarsest fare. 

As I passed by the oxen, and was looking at the 
cows, I saw that it did not please the old gent. I 
knew that he wanted me to leave the cows, and pass 
judgment upon the " steers," as he called them. I 



COST OF FAEM PRODUCTS. 263 

told him " that I did not think much of oxen, but 
thought cows were a very useful animal in a family." 
I saw that this remark pleased the old lady. As she 
came out where I was, she asked me " which I called the 
best cow ? " I explained to her Guenon's theory as 
well as I could. She thought I had guessed right on 
the quality of the coavs, and after telling her " that no 
cow could manufacture mUk of nothing, all that came 
out of the udder had first to be put in at the mouth, — - 
that she could as well make a paletable pudding of 
saw-dust, as a cow could make milk of the stuff I saw 
before them." 

In passing out of the barn, the old gent says, " aint 
you agoing to look at the oxen, — they got the pre- 
mium," — " and a half a dozen such," says I, " would 
get you into the ^oor house." As I was stepping into 
the carriage, I could hear rather loud talk about " oxen, 
cows, hay, meal," &c., between the parties in the barn. 
This was the desirable point, to get them to discussing 
the matter, I do not wish the reader to understand 
that I did not see the oxen, nor the barrels of meal be- 
fore them, nor the battening on the walls around them, 
nor their sleek and glossy hair, with the brush and 
the card. All these I saw. And I thought I could 
easily define the influences that had been at work, that 
had caused this man to neglect his own children, to al- 
low his buildings to go to ruin, his wife and little ones 
to suffer for the most common conveniences of life, that 
a morbid and false interest and pride might be satiated. 
I do not wish to be understood as saying that I do not 



264 FAKMING AS IT IS. 

like to see handsome oxen. What I desire to be under- 
stood as saying is this, that I do not like to see inno- 
cent children robbed of the useful things of life, that 
the gamblers and stock-jobbers of our cities can luxu- 
riate in tender roasts and juicy steaks, without know- 
insT something; of the cost to make them. The farmers 
themselves eat little or no good beef. Old farrow 
cows and two year old heifers and steers are too often 
a luxury to them. Not one-fourth part of the beef that 
is killed in this country is fit for human food. All this 
grows out of the idea that our farms can only be 
fertilized by animal manures. 

MILK MAKING. 

There are but few crops upon which greater errors 
exist than this. MUk can no more be made of nothing 
than any other crop. Although some cows produce 
more milk than others, and some will make more from 
the same food, yet no cow can make milk from nothing. 
Not only can the amount of milk be controlled to con- 
siderable extent at pleasure, but the quality also. Per- 
haps the best type of a cow is a flouring miU. The 
hopper is the mouth. Nothing comes out at the spout, 
without having been first put in at the hopper or 
mouth. And not quite all that is thus fed comes into 
the troughs. The dust or the sweepings of the walls 
and the floor, is the waste of the animal. That that 
comes out at the pores of the skin, (the scent that 
enables the hound to follow the fox,) are the sweep- 
ings. The flour is the mUk. The middlings and the 



COST OF FARM PRODUCTS. 265 

bran are the liquid and solid excrements. As the qual- 
ity of the flour, &c., depends upon the quality of the 
grain, so the inilk and the excrements are equally de- 
pendent upon the food the coav consumes. A cow that 
is fed upon corn meal and good hay, will give a better 
quality of milk than the same cow would if fed upon 
slops, turnips, and coarse herbage. 

The cost of a quart of milk dejjends so much upon 
circumstances, that no figures can be made to suit 
all localities. But I know of nothing that will induce 
thought more than fio-urino;. Assumino; mv fio-ures on 
the grain, hay and root crops to be correct, let us now 
see what it will cost to manufacture them into milk, 
and at what price the milk can be sold. I want the 
reader to keep in mind all the time that the rate of 
wages is one dollar per day, and six per cent, on the 
capital. The capital is past labor ; the per cent, upon 
it, is the earnings of the capital, and if rightly invest- 
ed, the labor to do this, is usually reckoned at about 
one per cent. Webster's definition of farming is, " The 
practice of tilling land." If, then, we want to get at 
the cost of a milk crop, it will not do to buy a cow and 
the food upon which she is fed. This would not be 
farming, but speculation, or manufacturing. 

We have seen that to raise a calf to one year old 
costs about $22 ; the next year $15 ; the next year 
820, making a three year old cow to cost $57. This 
cow is our mill, in which we are going to manufacture 
millv. The hay, grain, grass, &c., is the raw material, 
the power is the labor. As I shall offset the labor 



266 FAEMING AS IT IS. 

against the manure, these two items will be dispensed 
with. As it will be necessary to keep the cow one 
year, I shall reckon for that time. 

One yearns milk. Dr. 

To li tons hay $30.00 

*' 10 bushels meal 10.00 

" 15 bushels carrots 3.00 

" pasturing, fall feed and cow corn 182 days, at .08 14.56 

" interest on mill 3.42 

" rents, fencing, &c 3.00 

$63.98 
Or. 
By increased value of mill or cow $5.00 

$58.98 
Credit by 4 quarts milk per day, 1,460 quarts, mak- 
ing it cost per quart, •04-y||-o, or a small fraction over 
4 cents per quart. Allowing buttermilk to pay for the 
labor to make, and 8 quarts of milk to a pound of but- 
ter, the butter would cost 32;^ cents per pound. 

Therefore, it seems by these figures that a man 
who . can sell his milk for five cents per quart in the 
winter and three cents in the summer, is getting a per 
cent, on his capital that is in unison with our laws and 
institutions, and one dollar per day for his labor. No 
allowance has been made in these calculations for acci- 
dents and mishaps. 

Some may suppose it singular, perhaps, why it has 
cost as much to keep the cow this year as it did the 
three years before ! The answer to this is, that we 
have made 1,460 quarts of a good quality of milk, 
containing fifteen per cent, of nutritious matter, and 
had to keep up the ordinary functions of the cow 
besides. 



COST OF FARM PRODUCTS. 267 

PORK MAKING. 

It will be difficult to institute any figures in regard 
to this crop, as so much depends upon the selection of 
the animal, and many other circumstances. That the 
hog is an animal that all farmers should keep, there is 
no doubt. The number should be governed entirely 
by the amount of waste about the premises. These 
and the barn-yard fowl should be considered the glean- 
ers of the establishment, and kept in sufficient numbers 
to consume what there is. And all there is kept should 
be well fed ; it will not pay to half feed them. At the 
prices that have ruled for the last three years, the 
fewer animals that the farmers keep, above what they 
require for their own use and convenience, the better 
it will be for all laboring men. 

In regard to hogs, I know of no better plan, when 
pork is less than 12h cents per pound, than to fatten 
two per year, one in the winter and one in the summer, 
killing one each in the fall and spring. The size of 
them can be regulated to meet the wants of the family. 

I think that a bushel of corn meal, if scalded and 
judiciously fed, will make eight pounds of pork, if the 
hog is thrifty. This is the extent. It wiU not do to 
calculate more than six pounds to the bushel generally. 

In 1850, there were in the United States, all told, 
30,315,700 swine. At 250 pounds each, would make 
(7,578,925,000) seven billion five hundred and seventy- 
eight million, nine hundred and twenty-five thousand 
pounds ; which would give to each person one hog of 
329 pounds, reckoning the population in round num- 



268 FARMING AS IT IS. 

bers at 23,000,000. Allowing one hundred pounds of 
pork to each person for necessary consumption, it would 
leave a sui'plus of 5,278,925,000 pounds. It is true 
that we export hogs, pork, lard, hams, &c., largely. 
We also import all of these articles. But I can find 
no statistics for several years back, which would justify 
the assumption that anything like half this surplus is 
exported. 

These are the reasons why this part of farming does 
not pay. And no New England man can get anything 
for his labor at pork making, at any such prices as 
have ruled for the last three years, calling the manu- 
factured grain the raw material to the pork maker. 

Until the great West has made her soil as poor as 
that of New England, or she shall take a Aviser view 
of her interests and the good of her people, can no 
man succeed by farming alone in the Eastern States. 

THE COST OF BEEP. 

I have spoken elsewhere in regard to the cost of 
cattle. And the same remark I made in the making 
of pork, as is now practiced at the West, wiU apply 
equally well in regard to this article. As long as beef 
cattle are sold at the great markets for from four to 
eight cents per pound, it is no use to think of making 
beef here. It is true that the farmers of the eastern 
section of this State, a portion of New Hampshire, 
Rhode Island and Connecticut, can avail themselves 
of the low prices of cattle at Brighton, Cambridge and 
New York markets, and from these sources obtain their 



COST OF FARM PRODUCTS. 2G9 

oxen, cows, &c., at much lower rates than they can 
raise them. And from these they can make milk, but- 
ter, beef, &c., at a lower price than they otherwise 
could. But recollect that this is not legitimate farm- 
ing. What is our gain is others loss. And as long as 
the Western and all farmers who rce remote from the 
great markets are kept poor, so long will they crowd 
upon us most all products at such a rate that our ex- 
hausted land will give little or no returns for the labor. 
It is generally supposed that the first quality of beef 
cannot be made, unless the oxen are stall fed several 
months. Calling a yoke of oxen weighing 3,000 
pounds, worth $100 the first day of June, let us see at 
what price a good article or extra beef can be made. 

One Yoke Oxen. Dr. 

June 1, To cost $100.00 

Sept. 1, " pasturing, driving, salt, &c 10.00 

Nov. 1, " fall feed, cow corn, &c 5.00 

March 1, " 2-1 tons hay 50.00 

" 22<^ bushels meal, at $1 22.50 

" " interest 4.50 

" " rents of stable 2.00 

$194.00 
Cr. 
March 1, By 2,100 pounds beef, at 7i $157.50 

Net loss $36.50 

This is beef making. If it is claimed that part of 
this loss should have been made up by work, then let 
me say, that the cost of keeping must have been more, 
or the quality of the beef would not have been so good, 
and the price would have been less. 

And although the beef has fell short of paying the 



270 FARMING AS IT 13. 

cost by $30, it must be recollected that the man who 
raised the oxen must have lost more than this. 
To raise a yoke of oxen, I should make these figures : 

First year §44.00 

Second year ; . 3(t.00 

Third year 40.00 

Fourth year 50.00 

$164.00 
Allowing that the work has paid for the training, 
this will give us about fair compensation for the labor, 
investment, &c. After this, they must pay for their 
keeping by their work. 

Four years old oxen have been selling for from $60 
to $100 a yoke for the last one or two years. If $80 
is taken as the average price, then a loss of some $84 
must be sustained. 

Perhaps some will not be able to see clearly how it 
is that the first year costs more to raise cattle than 
either of the next two. The way that I explain this 
is, that the first year the labor to tend them is more, 
the manure is worth less, and more nutritious food is 
required. 

THE COST or WOOD. 

Perhaps there are few crops produced upon the farm 
upon which greater errors exist, in regard to the cost, 
than this. 'Tis true that the labor to grow this crop 
is comparatively light, but the growth is so slow that 
the per cent, on the capital eats up the growth several 
times over. I have known but little wood to grow 
sufficiently fast to keep pace with the per cent, on the 



COST OP FARM PRODUCTS. 271 

cost, and then only when it Is located in close proxim- 
ity to some other business but farming, and depends 
upon this for its value. And then this kind of prop- 
erty is not as safe as many people suppose. The last 
few years has abundantly proved this. The devouring 
element and storms often destroy much of this prop- 
erty. 

If an acre of sprout land costs $10, In less than 36 
years, at compound interest, it would cost $80. Most 
all classes of men are smart enough to get compound 
interest on their capital but farmers. And though 
farmers often pay interest that is compounded oftener 
than once a year, they seldom make their capital j)ay 
any per cent, at all, or throw their labor away to get it. 

FARMING IN THE WEST. 

The following is an estimate on wheat raising in one 
of the Western States, which I take from the New 
England Faroner of April 28, 1860. 

My object in introducing this here is to show how 
they reckon in the West, which will furnish some 
reason, I think, for their great distress in their pecun- 
iary affairs. 

Plowing 30 acres of land $30.00 

Sixty bushels seed wheat 60.00 

Two days one man sowing 2.00 

One man and team 6 days dragging 12.00 

Reaping 30 acres, at 60 cents per acre 18.00 

Binding " " " " 18.00 

Hauling and stacking 3 days 9.00 

Threshing 420 bushels, at 4 cents per bushel 16-80 

Hired help in threshing 10.00 

Rent on 30 acres of land 90.00 

$265.80 



272 FARMING AS IT IS. 

Cr. 
By 420 bushels, at 70 cents $294.00 



Leaving clear profit $28.20 

Thus it seems that our Western friend has got a 
dollar a day for his labor, and $28.20 besides, accord- 
ing to his figures. 

We will suppose our friend's figures to be all right 
but those we know to be wrong. 

The first charge of $30 for ploughing 30 acres of 
land. He says he did it with a span of horses. Can 
a man plough 30 acres of land with a span of horses 
in 15 days, and have them and his labor and the 
plough worth but $2 per day ? I know of no reason 
why a man cannot plough as much land in the East as 
in the West. Take our plains land here, which will 
compare favorably as far as ploughing is concerned 
with their land after it has once been ploughed, and 
an acre per day and follow it is enough for man or 
beast. It is true that for a single day a man might 
plough his two acres. It would not be wise or econ- 
omy to do it even for a single day. Then he has called 
fourteen bushels per acre his crop, which is three bush- 
els more than the last census returns make it. There- 
fore, if we increase the cost by $30 ploughing, and de- 
duct from the product three bushels to the acre, ninety 
bushels, $63, his crop would run him in debt $04. 
This is supposing all the figures to be correct but the 
two items named. 

In the interior towns, where land can be hired for 
about $3 per acre, wheat is often sold for from fifty to 



COST OF FARM PEODUCTS. 273 

sixty cents per bushel. Particularly this is the case 
when a large yield is obtained. 

From the same paper from which the above was 
obtained, I find another little item, which to my mind 
explains how delusive is this mode of reckoning. 

" Some of the Western States are still severely op- 
presssed for the want of money. In Iowa, Minnesota, 
and some other States where speculation was most rife, 
and every description of property was pledged at ex- 
orbitant rates of interest, for the repayment of bor- 
rowed money, the condition of things cannot be easily 
imagined. " 

I want to say here that my friend's statement is very 
modest compared to some in the Eastern States. Ac- 
cording to his figures, he makes a profit of a little 
more than ten per cent., while here a profit of several 
hundred is often figui'ed up. But on ploughing he 
beats us all hoUow. When will the time arrive that 
the farmer will learn to make a truthful and intelligent 
estimate on the cost of farm products ? I feel very 
sure it will never be as long as a premium is awarded 
to those only who out-general all others in bone and 
muscle, having the faculty to persuade others to rely 
on what is improbable, if not impossible. It will not 
answer for a man to do two days' work in one, or cause 
his men and team to do it, and set that up for a stan- 
dard ; for a man may deceive himself if he likes, but 
he has no right to deceive his neighbor. And any 
body or class of men who pursue this as a business or 
trade arc not friends to the people. 

Illinois, although comparatively a young State, has 



274 FAEMING AS IT IS. 

out-generaled all her sisters in the number of her Ag- 
ricultural Societies, having some 86, while Massachu- 
setts has but 34. No wonder her crops are among the 
lowest average per acre of all the States in the Union. 
Her soil is becoming exhausted, and her people have 
not the means to improve it. And my friend who has 
made the above calculation, has done much to show 
us the cause of her trouble. 

The following table shows at a single view, the cost 
of many farm products. The first column shows the 
cost of the stock, manure, or raw material out of which 
crops are made. The second the cost of, or per cent, 
on the capital. The third the cost of the labor, at one 
dollar per day. The fourth the total cost of the pr/)- 
duct. 







Raw 


Interest 




Total Cost 






Material. 


on 


Cost of 


of 








Capital. 


Labor. 


Products. 


Ton of English 


Hay $8.60 


$6.66 


$4.50 


$19.76 


(( 


Green Claver Hay 2.10 


1.75 


2.00 


5.85 


i( 


Swale 


2.86 


2.00 


3.00 


7.86 


n 


Rye Straw 1.94 


2.00 


4.25 


8.19 


<( 


Oat ' 


4,41 


2.50 


4.25 


11.16 


<( 


Dried Ind.CornSt'ks, 2.15 


2.00 


2.00 


6.15 


(( 


Millet, 


3.41 


4.50 


7.50 


15.41 


Bush. 


or 60 lbs 


, Potatoes, .12 


*.25 


.30 


.67 


(( 


40 


Beets, .08 


.06 


.12 


.26 


« 


40 


Mangold 












Wurzel, .05 


.04 


.08 


.17 


« 


40 


Com. Turnips .03 


.04 


.06 


.13 


« 


40 


Carrots, .06 


.06 


.09 


.21 


(( 


56 


Rye, Grain, .44 


♦.35 


.30 


1.09 


<( 


60 


Wheat, .57 


*.42 


.40 


1.39 


(( 


46 


Barley, .36 


♦.25 


.24 


.85 


« 


32 


Oats, .23 


♦.15 


.12 


.50 


« 


60 


Peas or Beans. 57 


*.50 


.45 


1.52 


« 


40 


Buckwheat, .26 


*.20 


.15 


.61 ' 


<( 


56 


Indian Corn, 42 


*.34 


.28 


.1.04 



Those products marked with a ♦, the cost of the seed is in- 
cluded. 



COST OF FARM PRODUCTS. 275 

In this table, on the total cost of the crops, the 
writer has made no calculation on marketing, therefore, 
if the farmer should make additional expense by team- 
In >•, it must be charsred to the ffoods sold. 

It will be noticed that oftentimes the various products 
sell higher than this table makes the cost to be, making 
a profit above all cost. But it will be admitted that a 
large majority of all sales made, fall below this cost 
table, making a net loss on the gross amount of sales. 
Every one ought to know that in doing a losing busi- 
ness, the less amount there is done the better. But the 
moment a per cent, over the cost is obtained, then the 
larger the better, for the size of the profit is not very 
materially important if the business can be so extended 
that the gross amount of profit, makes the business lu- 
crative. 

All who are disposed to demur at these figures, 
must recollect that locality will very much change 
them ; and as no similar table can be made to suit all 
places, therefore the writer desires to suggest that all 
farmers do what they can to establish a correct list of 
cost prices to suit their locality, and all who believe 
that the "laborer is worthy of his hire," should do 
what he can to establish them. That thought, study, 
investigation and mind, may enter more largely into 
the business, is the highest ambition of the writer. 



CHAPTEE X. 

MARKETING. 

The Sale of Goods — Marketplaces — The Value of the Loads Cai'ried 
to Market — The Country Stores — Barter — The Farmers Duty — 
Harmony among the Workers — The Earnings of Capital — The Diffi- 
culty at the West — Experts and the Farmer — A Rebellion — The 
Statute should be Repealed — The Alpha and Omega in Agriculture 
— The Shoemaker's Strike — The Rich and the Poor — The Farmer a 
Merchant — Debit and Credit — Proverbs and Sayings — No one Made 
a Fortune at Farming in New England. 

The existing system of disposing of farm products 
is the most cunningly devised to defraud the farmer, of 
any plan that could well be conceived of. All that the 
farmer wants to buy, has to be bargained for on the 
venders own premises. From a cotton hat to a wheel- 
barrow, — from law to medicine, — from theology to a 
stick of candy, all has to be met at the threshold of 
him whose office is to smooth over, gloss up and blend 
together the light and shade, that the imperfections 
may be covered up in such a manner that the worse 
may seem the better article. All this can be better 
and more cheaply done at home than any where else. 
Of all this I find no fault. But how is it with the 
farmer's goods ? His articles have to be by him carted 
to market, where some select locality is esjjecially ap- 
propriated to huddle all together, where every load wUl 
come in direct competition with each other load, that 
all mishaps, accidents, or calamities, obliging the weaker 

276 



MARKETING. 277 

and less thoughtful to give way, that the unscrupulous 
may establish the price for the clay. 

Cold and stormy weather, exposing the team, the 
driver and the load, to peculiar hardships, a distance 
from home, the expense of prolonging the journey, the 
impossibility of storing the load, the perishableness of 
the article, its great bulk and weight ; these, and many 
other causes, tend to keep down the price, exposing 
the farmer to the taunts and the jeers of the low and 
cunning, if not of a baser class, as the so-called aris- 
tocracy always employ some one to do their marketing; 
seldom coming in contact with the hard hands that fell 
the forests, plough the land, harvest the crops, ditch and 
drain the swamps, shovel the manure, make the beef 
and pork, &c., &c., unless it is at some cattle show, on 
the eve of an election, or when the load has been convert- 
ed into the pittance of cash, (if it has not been barter- 
ed away,) gentility, then, is full of smiles and twinkles, 
till the pocket is exhausted, and our farmer is home- 
ward bound, congratulating himself on his good luck, 
and ready to hurrah at every turn for the independence 
of farming, and the privilege of showing to the world 
to what endurance the physical and mental capacity of 
man can be subjected. The reader must bear in mind 
that all this time some broken-down politician, under 
sanction of law, has been following our farmer at his 
heels, with a four foot pole, a pair of balances, and a 
peck measure, to see fair play, and that soft hands 
don't get cheated. 

With far greater propriety and fitness of things, 



278 TAEMING AS IT IS. 

would It be for the farmers in each of their towns, to 
appropriate a place where the merchant, the lawyer, the 
doctor, the tailor, the tinker, the loafer, and aU of city- 
dom, that wanted to, could assemble and expose their 
wares for sale or barter, that the farmers could meet 
them with their experts, that justice might prevail in 
the land. The most serious objection to this arrange- 
ment would be a sufficient police to keep the peace. 

Seriously, the present arrangement is full of impor- 
tant objections, having a tendency to degrade the farm- 
er, not only in the public estimation but in his OAvn. 
It makes and keeps him poor, drives his sons to the 
cities and distant places, his daughters to the factories 
and to the lowest grade of needle-work, exposing his 
farm and buildings to decay, and himself to reserve, 
low spirits, closeness, and too often, insanity. Thus we 
often see long lives of the severest industry, economy 
and self-denial, end in penury and want. If there 
was a profit in the business, the evil would be less, but 
even then, aside from this, the arrangement is full of 
wrono;. But when we see that one-fourth of the gross 
amount of sales made in this way hardly pays the ex- 
pense of marketing, ail things faii'ly reckoned, it wiU 
be seen that as poorly as the farmer is paid, this greatly 
reduces the wa2;es of his toil. 

It usually spoils the day for a man to go to market, 
if he has but a few miles to go, unless his load has been 
previously sold. Then, the receipts are so meager, that 
allowing for the expenses, comj)aratively little is left to 
pay for the labor, capital and material, that has produced 



MARKETING. 279 

It. If we should allow $4.00 for an average value of all 
the loads that are carted to market by the farmers, 
then reckoning the positive expense to them of doing 
this, the labor and board for the man, the keeping and 
loss on the team, the wear of the wagon or vehicle, 
with the interest on the capital, it Avould not fall short 
of $1.00, or one-fourth of the whole amount of receipts. 
As it is well known that many farmers go to market 
with but one or two dollars Avorth, and most loads do 
not exceed six dollars in value, excepting tlie single 
article of hay, it will be seen that these figures are a 
tolerable approximation to the facts as they exist. 

This is farming within ten or fifteen miles of the 
market. But how is it more remote ? In all towns at 
a considerable distance from the market, a different 
state of things exist. There the country stores take 
the farmers products in exchange for goods. This also, 
takes a good deal of time, to keep up the system of 
bartering that here prevails. And although our coun- 
try friends get rid of the constable and the four foot 
pole, yet they are subjected to the " scales " (perhaps 
of justice,) and the peck measure of the merchant. 
It is needless to say, that all this arrangement tends di- 
rectly to cheapen the farmer's goods. Because, a man 
always feels more independent and better guarded 
against imposition at home, where his goods show to 
the best advantage, he is free from the expense of call- 
ino- upon others, and here the scale is turned, as he is 
up and dressed, ready for the smartest of them. 

How often we hear it said, that admitting these 



280 FARMING AS IT IS. 

things to be so, how can they be altered ? They exist, 
always have, and we must submit to them. Now wait 
a moment and let us see. The country is abundantly 
supplied with all the things needful, is it not ? Yes. 
The eartli produces in abundance, does it not ? Yes. 
Farming is the foundation upon which all other kinds 
of business rests, is it not? Yes. All trades and 
callings are dependent upon the farmer, are they not ? 
Yes. If the earth ceases to produce, man would 
starve, would he not ? Yes. For to provide against 
hunger, man will barter all he possesses, will he not ? 
Yes. All our institutions, systems, rules, laws, cus- 
toms, habits, inclinations and governments, are what 
we (the people,) make them, are they not ? Yes. 
Nearly all our woes, wrongs, evils, mishaps, adversities, 
frauds, cheats, and the like, are for the want of right 
reason, are they not ? Yes. Then admitting all this 
to be true, there is no good cause for the state of 
things that exist. 

If the quack doctor can become a millionaire by the 
sale of his nostrums, — the lawyer can ride in his car- 
riage, — the merchant can enjoy the fat of the land, — 
the jockey can ride with whip and spurs, — the loafer 
can snap his fingers at honest industry ; if all this can 
be fastened upon the people, I know that the working 
farmers can live, if they can agree upon this, that they 
will have pay for their labor, a per cent, upon their 
capital, and pay for the material of which their crops 
are made. There is no need of any combination, ex- 
citement or demonstration, but let them fully resolve 



MARKETING. 281 

upon this, and the work is done. Let each make his 
own figures, being careful not to cheat himself, and the 
object of this work is obtained. 

Then there is no warring of the West upon the 
East, the North upon the South, one section upon 
another section, the country upon the city, the seaboard 
upon the frontier. All is harmony and success. Our 
lands will increase in value, our towns will retain the 
young men and women, our schools wiU become larger 
and better, our meeting-houses wiU be better filled, our 
centres will become fuU of life and prosperity, our 
homes more happy, our old men will cease to be a bur- 
den, our poor better cared for, and the poor-houses, in 
a measure, depopulated. All this, and much more, 
would immediately grow out of this arrangement. 
AVhen the farmers learn to cease the production, if the 
crops cease to be remunerative, then, and then only, 
will they be respected, and take that position among 
men they ought. 

There are but few things more simple than this. 
Our capital has already been earned. The wisdom of 
ages have said this, that capital may earn a certain per 
cent. All civilized nations act upon this principle. 
The laws establish what those earnings shall be. The 
farmers know too well how this is. But they seem to 
forget that their farms should earn as well as their 
hands. This should be done without deterioration to 
the soil. Therefore, let this be fully understood, and 
it will be seen, that one section of the country can pro- 
duce, all things being equal, about as cheaply as an- 



282 FARMING AS IT IS. 

other ; the material to make the crop, in quantity and 
quality, always being the same. It requires no more 
in the East than the West, the North than the South. 
It is true, that the value attached to the land affects 
the cost of the crop, same as the value of the labor. 
The price of labor should be nearly equal, one section 
with another. And the study of all should be to in- 
crease this price everywhere. There is no fears of 
o-etting the standard of labor too hio;h. For as the 
laborer becomes well paid, he will become intelligent, 
independent, more of a man. But, oppress, distrust, 
starve him, and he sinks to the lowest grade of hu- 
manity. 

Therefore, as we see that the cost of crops in two 
of the requisites are nearly equal, — that is, labor and 
the material out of which they are made, — then it 
follows that the per cent, on the capital is the principal 
reason Avhy crops can be raised lower in one locality 
than another ; and as the expense of transportation 
will generally balance this, Ave then come to an intelli- 
gent conclusion, why the people who cultivate new 
States, the virgin soil, in the second generation always 
become poor and involved in difficulties, unless other 
business comes to their relief. This is the cause of 
the present difficulty in the great West. A few years 
back it was so in Ohio and western New York. It 
will always be so till the people learn that farm pro- 
ducts, like all other products, are made of something, 
and they cannot be separated from the sod with im- 
punity. 



MARKETING. 283 

Now, after these brief explanations, we will return 
to the subject more particularly under consideration, — 
MARKETING. We have seen that it costs us twenty- 
five per cent, to market most of our products. This 
has to come from somewhere, — if it is not made in 
profits, it must come out of the labor or capital. There 
is no escaping it. Then the question arises, are the 
profits equal to this ? We have before seen that in 
farming there is no such thing as profit. It does not 
enter into the farmers' vocabulary. They have no 
such word in their language. 

We have seen what has been said about this. Large 
profits are sometimes figured up on paper, by design- 
ino- or deceived men, whose interest is to keep the 
farmers poor. This we have seen. But, when 
these men are asked in plain terms if such is the 
fact, the unanimous answer is. No I They have 
not made a profit. If we should go through the 
State, putting the same question to each farmer, viz : 
Have ^you made a profit at farming over a fair per 
cent, on the capital invested, and a reasonable imce 
for the labor performed f Let this question be put 
to all farmers in the State, and the universal answer 
must be, NO. If I go among the fishermen of Swamp- 
scot, — the clam-diggers of Nantasket, — the rag- 
pickers of Boston, — the stevedores upon Long Wharf, 
— the shoemakers of Lynn, — the factory operatives 
of Lowell, — the apple and candy merchants of the 
streets, — the jobbers, jockeys, tradesmen, lawyers, 
clergy, doctors, and all, among some of each class I 



284 FARMING AS IT IS. 

shall find those who have earned their capital at their 
business, and many who have (if not fortunes,) some- 
thing handsome besides. 

If all these things that I say are true, had not the 
people ought to know it ? J£ they are not true, then 
it is easy to refute them. The figures can be easily 
made, and the facts brought forward to establish them. 
Are not the farmers men, like other folks, having the 
same capacities, and are subject to the same influences ? 
Then why select them out and employ experts to 
watch, catechise, and stand as arbiter between them 
and a customer, when going to market ? It cannot be 
because the business is so lucrative that their success 
needs to be checked, and I do not believe it is because 
they are so dishonest that no confidence can be placed 
in them, because this would be, to say the least, im- 
politic. Is it because they are not suflSciently intelli- 
gent to measure a load of wood correctly, or weigh a 
load of hay, or measure a peck of apples ? I should 
like to hear an intelliorent reason for this. 

Every year millions of dollars' worth of property 
are packed up in tight boxes, nailed, strapped and 
marked, and transported to the most distant sections 
of the country, iDy rail, by water, by express, and who 
ever heard of a case coming before our courts where a 
false invoice was made to appear? There are no ex- 
perts here, no measurers, no weighers, no cullers, no 
one to stand by with a long pole to see that somebody 
don't get cheated. Establish such, and a rebellion 
that would jHit the Kevolutionary "tea-party" entirely 



MAKKETING. 285 

in the shade, would be about your ears. A " strike " 
that is a strike, with blank cartridges, perhaps, at first, 
but unless a repeal was sounded, what would follow 
can aeasily be imagined. Are all trades-people, mer- 
chants, manufacturers and mechanics less intelligent or 
less honest for this ? I think not. But the reverse is 
undoubtedly true. In a word, then, why subject the 
farmer to insult or annoyance, making him less a man 
than he otherwise would be, by such old and musty 
statutes, that had their origin among despots, to make 
serfs of the people ? 

Eepeal the law. I repeat it, repeal the statute, and 
then the farmer will see that a reputation is worth 
something, that success has some connection with in- 
tegrity. Let this be the starting point, the Alpha of 
better days, and when all statutes, such as estabhsh 
"Boards of Agriculture," "Agricultural Societies," 
and the like, are repealed, whose origin was with the 
enslavers of the people, then, and not till then, can 
the Omega of oppression be written. I entreat of all 
laborers, and the agriculturists in particular, to speak 
freely upon these things ; think, study, reflect and agi- 
tate, for 

" He who -would be free, himself must strike the blow." 

The people themselves would not be opposed to a 
repeal of all these laws. They know that they had a 
monarchical origin, and are not in unison with our in- 
stitutions. And the only reason we submit to them is, 
that they were made before we knew what laws were. 



286 FARMING AS IT IS. ' 

In fact, they were handed down to us, coming across 
the water, and our policy is to get rid of them fast as 
possible, as " that people are best governed who are 
governed the leasts The professed friends of the 
farmer, the fancy, undoubtedly would oppose it, as 
" Othello's occupation would be gone." Who is there, 
that does not have an infinitely higher opinion of the 
shoemakers to-day, than they did before the recent 
strike was commenced ? And who are to be the losers ? 
Because the object is to raise the price of shoes. They 
desire to live by their business, earning a living by 
their work. If there is a man so mean as to think or 
wish them unsuccessful, there is no one who has the 
courage to say it, although at the commencement of 
the strike, thousands were loud in their denunciation. 
All, it is true, cannot in the present tense be benefited. 
But humanity has been elevated. The toiling masses 
have got a stronger grasp at the tyrant, and he is 
stilled for a season. 

" The price of liberty is eternal vigilance." 
Our farmers must not think that because they have 
good and comfortable farms, with all the conveniences 
for making themselves comfortable and happy, that 
they can lay down, regardless of the future. This 
will not do. No man lives entirely for himself. In all 
civilized and organized governments, we give up some 
rights to that of community. The State has some 
claim upon each, and each has some claim upon all. 
Therefore it will not do to stand aside, and say that we 
are all right, the poor must take care of themselves. 



MARKETING. 287 

Because the poor of to-day may be the rich to-morrow, 
and vice versa. Then it is the duty of all to try to 
elevate labor, for labor is respected only as it is paid. 
That that is cheap, is thought but httle of, and that 
that is dear is prized as it costs. A man who inherits 
property is neither the better nor the worse for that. 
But he who uses such to oppress his fellow-man, has 
but Httle claim to the respect of the people, and should 
never receive the emolumency or honor of office. 

Every farmer should be a merchant as well as 
farmer ; keeping a regular set of books, with plenty 
of leisure to keep his accounts, make his figures, study 
the principles of his business, investigate the science 
of Agriculture for himself, instruct his children, tend 
to the sales of his goods, which should always be done 
at home, on his own premises, be his own expert, keep- 
ing a four foot pole, a set of measures, scales, &g. Plis 
study should be to make his own home pleasant, him- 
self and family happy, enjoying the conveniences of 
life, working as much as is needful to accomplish this ; 
knowing the e>ost of everything he produces, that 
which he consumes as well as what he sells ; giving the 
farm credit for all that he consumes, the increased 
value of the same from year to year if any, the whole 
amount of sales made, and charging the farm with all 
the labor performed, the interest on the capital, the 
taxes, insurance, and the depreciation in value, if any. 
I know that this will take time, but what of that ? 
Do you desire to be serfs, and your chUdi'en slaves ? 
If so, then neglect these things, work yourself and 



288 FARMING AS IT IS. 

family into the doctor's hands, or poor-house, cart your 
goods to market and sell them for less than you could 
have done at home, make and sell pork and beef for 
two-thirds the cost, do all you can to depopulate your 
own towns, administering to the comfort and enjoyment 
of those who undertake to control you, build up the 
cities, increase the value of other's property. In a 
word, " do just what you ought not to do, and neglect 
those things you should do." 

As long as those laws of which I have spoken re- 
main upon the statute books, so long, brother farmers, 
everywhere, let us stay at home, living upon our own 
resources. If others can do without us, we can do 
without them. Establish ourselves upon principle, de- 
manding nothing but what is clearly right, and sub- 
mitting to nothing that is wrong. This is your duty, 
as it is my duty. For the good of the cause let us 
suffer if need be. Not that I would say a word or 
think a thought to separate one interest from another, 
to have a clashing among the various interests ; but 
if our rights can be obtained in no other way, then and 
only then, would I advocate this. "Z^wm, vivimus, 
vivimus.'^ While we live, let us live. A Roman phi- 
losopher once said, *^Show me the laws of a people^ 
and I will read you their character.''^ '"''Audi alteram 
partem.'''' Hear the other side. This is what we want. 
*' Hear the other side." Look the facts in the face, 
and if wrongs exist, right them. 

It is often said that all business but farming is "over- 
done." I think I have proved that this, if not the 



MARKETING. 289 

only business over-done, it certainly comes pretty near 
to that conclusion. I know very well that no portion 
of the people are so poorly paid for their labor as the 
farmers. It cannot be said that they live by their 
labor, since no man thinks of farming on borrowed 
capital. When three-fourths of all other kinds of busi- 
ness is carried on by borrowed capital, the fiirmer finds 
it up-hill work when he owns his capital. Where this 
capital came from, has been shown in these pages. No 
one will claim that any considerable proportion of it 
came from the profits of farming. 

Out of the 200,000 farmers in New England, not 
one solitary individual can be found who has earned a 
fortune at farming. Let this statement stand till the 
contrary is proved, as it is not my business to prove a 
negative. Those who think differently, I hope will be 
kind enough to let me know when they find their man, 
who has more than two letters to his name. How I 
define farming, is several times expressed in these 
pages. 



CHAPTER XI. 

THE FAEMERS' SONS. 

New Hampshire a Good State to Emigrate From — The Sons of New 
England Should Stay at Home — Killing Two Birds with One Stone — 
Husbands for the Country Girls — The Prodignl Son — A Supposition 

— Mr. Wiseman's Children — Wiseman a Reasoner — John Wiseman 
Repairs his Father's Buildings — The Miller's Rule — A Grocery and 
Shoe Factory — Tenements Wanted — Great Time Getting Married — 
Ann and, the Shoemaker — Earning a Living — The East and the AVest 

— A Balance of the Sexes — Concentration of Business. 

Mr. Webster once said, that " New Hampshire 
was a good State to emigrate from." " Its principal 
articles of export were young men and granite." The 
same can be said of this and aU of the New England 
States, in regard to the young men. Although the ex- 
port list has been greatly increased of late years, both 
in the human and other commodities, and we still 
continue to manufacture the article, yet we cannot af- 
ford to export it. If the young men of this and other 
New England States are a good material to build up 
distant States and cities, they are just as useful to stay 
at home ; and that although it is bad policy to export 
any Agricultural commodity, unless the returns are 
sufficient to reinstate them, and pay for the labor in 
doing so, yet thi& commodity can never be fully com- 
pensated. 

No farmer should think of exiling his children. It 

290 



THE TAEMEES' SONS. 291 

would be infinitely more wise to bring business to them 
than it would to send them to seek business elsewhere. 
Business, trade, the value of property, &c., are what 
the people make them. There is no chance, luck, or 
happened-to-come-so about it. Most farming towns 
could double their population, business and wealth, 
every twenty-five years, if they would make half the 
effort to do this that they do to make each other j^oor. 
It is just as easy to go up hill as it is to go down, after 
you get used to it, in this respect. I would not have 
the number of farmers increased, there are too many 
now for the population. But what I would do is this : 
I would distribute much of the trade, business and 
manufactures of the cities among the country towns. 
This would be " killing two birds with one stone," as 
the saying is. The increase of population and business 
would enhance the value of the lands, and the extra 
population would make a home market for our pro- 
ducts. 

There are many other advantages arising from this, 
besides a mere dollar and cent view of the matter. 
Among which are an increase of means to support pub- 
lic worship, a higher order of, and increased facilities 
for schooling, a purer moral and social condition of 
the people, a higher order of intellectual attainments, 
&c., &c. 

But, says the reader, " how is all this agoing to be 
brought about ? It undoubtedly would be a good 
thing if it could be done, but, that is the rub." Let 
us see. We must keep the young men at home, and 



292 TARMING AS IT IS. 

tliey must do something besides farming. Then the 
question arises, what shall they do ? Or perhaps it 
would be better to say, what can they do ? Or better 
still, what would) they do ? Answer : They would 
furnish husbands to scores of the young maidens, who 
otherwise would be obliged to go to some factory, or 
other place, to earn a scanty living in single blessed- 
ness, wearing themselves out in the service of others. 
This is one thing they would do, and if this wece all, it 
would be a gain. But this is not all, for if they could 
earn a hving anywhere else, they could here, if they 
have had the right training. If shoes can be made in 
Lynn, and sold in Boston, New York and other places, 
at a profit, they can be made here. And if the farm- 
ers' capital can build factories in Lowell, railroads in 
New Hampshire, buy bank stocks, &c., it can furnish 
all the capital wanted to do this. But, all are not 
agoinsr to be shoemakers. Other thinn;s can be made 
and sold as well. Farm implements, furniture, clothes, 
hats and caps, carpenter's work, blacksmithing, &c. 
All these will be wanted to a considerable extent at 
home, as the population increases. Then all the farm- 
ers and others must learn to patronize their own, letting 
the city folks take care of their own affairs, and if the 
poor among them Avho are willing to work, find it hard 
to live there, let them start for the country, for that is 
just the place for them. 

The farmers have, and are, committing great errors 
in regard to the education and habits of their sons. 
They too generally intend to make farmers of them. 



THE farmers' soxs. 293 

This is their mistake. They have all their lives been 
laboring under a delusion themselves, and seldom as- 
certain the cause of their embarrassments, till their sous 
finding it impossible to live by following the occupatioxx 
of their fathers, embark in some kinds of business for 
which they have had no previous training, and a fail- 
ure is too often the residt. How often we see these 
young men, like the "prodigal son," returning to their 
fathers, broken down, disheartened and discouraged, 
Avho would have made useful members of society, if 
they had had a suitable training before embarking in 
their effort at trade or business. 

Perhaps I can better illustrate what I want to say, 
by a supposition, than in any other way. A farmer, 
whom we will call Mr. Wiseman, has five children, 
three sous and two daughters, a farm with a hundred 
acres, with fair buildings, in the town of C , Mid- 
dlesex County, Massachusetts. 

John, the eldest son, is apprenticed to a carpenter, 
at the age of seventeen, to stay till twenty-one, with 
the understanding that he is to go to the high school 
three months each winter, in his native town. 

Smith, the next son, is sent to Lynn, at eighteen, to 
stay till twenty-one, with a shoemaker, and learn tho- 
roughly the business of shoe-making, cutting, the gen- 
eral management of workmen, books, &c. 

Jane, the next, stays at home and helps her mother, 
excepting when at school, or when on an occasional 
visit among her lady friends. It is not improper here 
to state, that on these occasions she never denies a 



294 FiVUMING AS IT IS. 

familiar acquaintance with the wash tub, nor considers 
it unlady-hke to recognize one of" her okl friends, the 
cow. 

Daniel, the next, is sent to Lowell with Mr. A., to 
learn the grocery and variety store business. 

Ann, the baby, follows in the footsteps of her illus- 
trious predecessor, Jane. 

When neighbor Wiseman is interrogated by his 
neighbors in regard to his affairs, and what is agoing 
to become of his farm, and himself and wife, in their 
decline, he answers in this wise : " As to the farm, if 
it will not take care of itself, let it go. I do not desire 
to waste my own time, much less that of my children. 
I have generally failed to get pay for my own labor 
when at work upon the farm, and I have too much re- 
gard for the good of my children, to desire them to do 
what I have always been poorly paid for doing my- 
self." 

It is needless to say that Mr. Wiseman takes an in- 
telligent view of the matter. He knows that when he 
removes a crop from the soil, he has either got to re- 
turn its equivalent in plant food, or deteriorate it ; and 
unless he gets his pay for the labor in doing so, it is 
time worse than idly spent. He takes time to make the 
figures upon the crops, calling this a part of the labor 
of the farm, knows when he sells a product whether 
his labor is paid for or thrown away, thinks he has no 
moral right, because somebody gave him a farm, to use 
that in such a way that it would be detrimental to the 
interest of his poor neighbor, who has been less fortu- 



THE farmers' sons. 295 

nate. He knows that a thing (in a business point of 
view,) that he cannot aftbrd to pay for doing, is not 
worth doing. He can see no reason why his own hibor 
is not as well entitled to pay, as that of the Irishman 
whom he employs. In a word, he looks down into the 
bottom of things. He knows that when a lot of sharp- 
ers in the great city get together to concoct measures 
to bring the farmers with their products there to please 
them, that it is for nobody's good but their own ; and 
if they fail to make it pay, they will vote them a 
twenty-five cent picture for a ten spot, instead of the 
hard cash they promised. In fact, friend W. has been 
a close observer of human natur, and lie knows that 
when some of the city folks are bragging about a profit 
of several hundred per cent, on the corn and other 
crops, that it is about time to give the sheriff a call, as 
" forbearance," in that direction, " has ceased to be a 
virtue." 

He cannot see the consistency of the fancy, by con- 
tinually harping upon the almost sure bankruptcy of 
all who engage in any kind of business but farming ; 
and at this, when such monstrous profits are made, why 
farm property is deteriorating in value, and no one is 
willing to risk their capital in it. It does not look ex- 
actly clear to him, that when these disinterested sym- 
pathizers with the farmer who double their capital 
every year on their corn and other crops, are not con- 
tent with this ; but are continually before the Legisla- 
ture asking for appropriations to send them into the 
farming districts to lecture the people how to throw 



293 FAR3II>r(> AS IT IS. 

mud out of tlie bottom of a ditch, to drain their 
meadows, and whether the water will run down or up 
the hill. Now we will see how Mr. Wiseman's children 
get along, and the consummation of his long-cherished 
plans. 

The winter before John's apprenticeship is out, the 
neighbors are somewhat surprised to see friend Wise- 
man teaming logs to the mill. These are put into the 
various kinds of lumber, and carefully stuck up around 
our neiarhbor's buildings. 

On the fourth of July, (1852,) John spends the day 
with his parents and brothers and sisters, at the old 
homestead. After dinner, when the family are sitting 
around the centre-table in the parlor, and Ann is drum- 
ming out a few tunes on their familiar friend, the 
piano, Smith asks John " where he is going after his 
time is out, and what he is going to do ? " " He has 
not fully decided upon that," says Mrs. W. Mr. W. 
stops all controversy upon this point, by saying, " My 
plans arc all made. I have work for a carpenter for 
the most of a year, and if the wages are satisfactory, 
John can take the position." This settles the worsted. 

The last of August John returns home, with a full 
set of tools from Mr. L., his master, who deems no 
other expression of satisfaction necessary, inasmuch as 
the tools were a gratuity, or additional to the bargain. 

In less than one year, Mr. W.'s buildings have been 
modernized, thoroughly repaired, painted in two colors, 
with green blinds, &c. Although they always looked 
neat and pretty, yet now they are the admiration of 



THE TARMEES' SONS. 297 

all. Neighbor S., who knows a thing or two, declares, 
with a twinkle of the eye, " that they look as though 
friend W. had been round lecturing on humus and 
impJiee^ at five dollars a lick, with the scrapings." It 
is needless to say that this is a mere take-off by friend 
S., who is fond of a joke, as no one ever thought there 
was a particle of hypocrisy in neighbor W., as he 
would be the last man to preach one thing and prac-. 
tice another ; and when he cannot live without persuad- 
ing others to do what he cannot do himself, he will stop. 

John W. is now a great favorite with aU the old 
ladies of C, who have got a full share of the feminines 
around the breakfast table, and it is remarkable how all 
at once, their buildings have got into a dilapidated con- 
dition, and must be repaired right off. John has to 
adopt a kind of miller's rule, and in this way goes 
throuo-h the villao;e, and O ! what a chano;e. 

Presently, outsiders ai-e attracted to the revolutionary 
scene, and really, the old town presents new beauties 
at every turn, and the wonder is why these attractions 
have never before been discovered. 

Mr. W., the senior, calls round one day where his 
son is at work, holds a short confab with him, and 
leaves. 

Presently, a large lot of lumber Is seen piled up on 
the corner of the old turnpike and the Boston road. 
The town is now all agog, and over goes neighbor S. 
to see what is the next move. Friend W. has no se- 
crets, and it soon gets round that a grocery store and 
shoe factory is going up, right on Mr. W.'s farm. 



298 . FARMING AS IT IS. 

Some think he had better go into the village, but Mr. 
W. thinks he had better bring the village to him. 
They are too old-fashioned to suit his notion. He 
thinks it wiser to build new than to remodel the old. 

In due tim, a neat and tasty building, 24 -f- 50, two 
stories high, is seen, where a short time before was a 
potato patch. 
. About one year after Mr. W.'s second son, Smith, 
went to Lynn, a young man came to C. to go to the 
high school there. He boarded with friend W., and 
although It was some distance from the village, yet he 
was philosopher enough to know that exercise was one 
of the necessary concomitants of a school education. 
Some of the old ladies of C. looked a little askew, 
when they saw the family of W. going to the village 
church on Sunday, and declared they saw W.'s oldest 
gal drop her handkerchief, and young Alley picked it 
right up, and they had quite a laugh over it. This 
was enough. That point was settled. 

In due process of time, a heavy baggage wagon 
passes through the village with a load of shoe goods, 
and they are unloaded at the shop of Wiseman and 
Alley. 

Young Wiseman goes through the village and among 
the farmers, and engages what spare tenements can be 
found, and also board for a few shoe-binders and work- 
men. 

Business now commences. The old people seem to 
have obtained a new lease of life ; all is animation ; 
the streets are alive with well-dressed and well-behaved 



THE farmers' sons. 2SI9 

young men and girls, who are regular at their work ; 
and the goods of the new firm of Wiseman & Alley- 
are sent forth as a living advertisement, to their value 
and credit. 

AVhile all this has been going on, John W. has not 
been idle. He has taken two apprentices, liired one 
journeyman, and is at work on a dwelling for Mr. 
Alley. 

Carpenters, masons, and other mechanics come here 
to obtain employment. Some have bought a few lots, 
Intending to put up buildings as soon as things get a 
little better established ; although there are a few old 
fogies round with a pail of cold water, who have some 
apprehension that the smell of leather may disturb 
their olfactory nerves a little ; and as for a shoemaker, 
they can never bear the mention of one since it has 
become generally known that their old grandfather 
used to go round "•' whipping the cat." 

In less than three years from the day that Wiseman 
& Alley raised their shingle, three dwellings have been 
built, three weddings have taken place, all on the old 
homestead, viz : John, the carpenter, is settled down 
in a fine looking cottage, keeps a cow, pig, and horse, 
and Henrietta W., formerly Miss S., the village school 
teacher, declares she never was so happy In her life. 

Mr. Alley and Jane have consummated just what 
the old ladles surmised at the time the handkerchief 
was dropped. 

Smith has taken home this very day. Miss E., the 
village belle. She will soon be a wife, and a prize as 
well. 



300 FARMING AS IT IS. 

Parson M. has got three V.'s, and what Dr. H. has 
made out of the brush, " mum " must be the word. 

Daniel, the youngest son, has changed his mind in 
regard to going West ; has conckided to take a part- 
nership with his employer, establish a branch of the 
Lowell house at C, and has taken the first floor of 
the shoe-shop for this purpose. John is putting him 
(Daniel) up a house on a vacant lot on the old turn- 
pike, and all declare it to be the neatest place in town. 

Already, Parson M. has got another V., and neigh- 
bor S.'s family is one the less. 

Ann, the baby, is beginning to show the ribbons, 
and report has it that a shoemaker from New Hamp- 
shire is particularly attracted in that direction, and 
Parson M. thinks he can afford a new hat on that, if 
the merchant is not particularly in a hurry for the 
" rocks." 

It has now been eight years since John Wiseman 
left his old master. In that time he has repaired nearly 
half the houses in the east part of the town, built a 
grocery and shoe factory, and four dwelling houses, 
with some outbuildings. 

Mr. Wiseman, the elder, during all this time, has 
had a good deal of care and anxiety. Of his means 
he has not been sparing. He has deeded to each of 
his children ten acres of the homestead ; considers 
the fifty acres left worth more in the market than 
the hundred was when he commenced ; has discovered 
that he has made some mistakes ; yet, as a whole, is 
often congratulated on his efforts, and has the proud 
satisfaction of knowing that his children have learned 



THE farmers' sons. ' £01 

how to earn a living. If reverses should befall them, it 
will not be likely to dishearten them. They know hoAv 
to work, and are not ashamed that all should know it. 

Perhaps C. will never become a city, but who cau 
say but what a nucleus has here been formed around 
which various kinds of business will gather ; and so 
long as the people are Avise, and think and act for them- 
selves, it will grow and prosper. 

Although the preceding is a tax upon the imagina- 
tion, yet who is there that cannot draw a parallel from 
real life ? And let me say that there are but tew towns 
in New England but what can do as well, — many bet- 
ter. This is what will stay the everlasting emigration 
from the East to the West ; is what will balance the 
cities with the interior, — rid the former of its surplus 
population, and make the latter more inviting to the 
young, and the decline of the aged less burdensome 
and sad. 

The only hojDC of the farmers is to draw in and mix 
up with them the traders, mechanics and manufac- 
turers. In this way, the sexes will be more equally 
balanced, not having one end of the county filled with 
old bachelors and the other with the opposite, to the 
Injury of both, and detrimental to the best good of the 
country, as a whole. 

The writer desires to suggest that if the farmers all 
over New England can see anything practical in this, 
and useful to the people, is it not their duty to them- 
selves, their children, the public, and the country at 
large, to practice up to this duty ? Never wait to have 
some rich man or incorporated company come along to 



302 FARMING AS IT IS. 

do what the farmers themselves can do much better. 
Learn your children to do what will be useful and re- 
munerative, if you would desire to make them happy, 
and your country great. 

It is well known that mechanical business is being 
crushed out of the country towns. In 1846, there 
were 20 scythe factories distributed over the State. 
Now, although the gross amount of the business has 
increased, yet the business has become concentrated in 
a few cities and large towns. In the same time, the 
number of plough manufactories has been reduced 
from 73 to 22 ; the number of shovel establishments 
from 39 to 21. The same is true of most kinds of me- 
chanical business. Although the business has been 
increased, it is continually becoming concentrated, 
o-reatly to the injury of the farming communities. 

Everything we want to buy, we have to go to the 
cities for. If we want our lands drained ; if we want 
a pipe laid ; if we want a pump made ; a well dug ; 
a house built ; a barn raised ; a wall built ; a cow doc- 
tored ; a horse nicked ; a harness repaired ; a wagon 
built ; a pair of cart wheels tired ; a tree trimmed ; 
a graft set ; a few pumpkin or squash seeds ; tomato 
plants ; or no matter what, it must all come from the 
city. And for all these, and much more, we must pay 
the price asked ; when all we have to sell we must 
team to them, they are such good fellows, and consider 
it fortunate to have them fix the price, and then set an 
expert to m,easure or weigh the article, for which they 
are kind enough to exchange some of their goods. 



THE farmers' sons. 303 

THE DUTY OF YOUNG MEN. 

Although the writer has mainly confined himself in 
this work to the pecuniary aifairs of life, yet he wishes 
not to have it understood that this is the whole duty 
of man, or his main duty ; but as society is constituted, 
that it is one of the duties there can be no question. 
Although it may be unpopular to say it, no man thinks 
it unpopular or wrong, by honorable and fair means, to 
do it ; for without money, a man will always find the 
means of doing good extremely limited. And I have 
yet to learn that with it a man need in any particular 
be less a man, or less useful in society ; since most of 
the good deeds of life are accomjilished by it, and 
usually by those whose earnings are in excess of their 
expenditures. These are the men who mainly lighten 
the burdens of society, support the gospel at home and 
abroad, build the places of learning, pay the teachers, 
who instruct our children, build the cities and towns, 
envelop the land with the iron rail, transverse the 
ocean with the lightning cord, plough the deep with a 
power, the bones and muscles of which are made of 
the ore which it has excavated the earth to possess ; 
and that although it is the duty of most young men to 
earn more than they spend, yet let no one think to 
make money by reducing their expenses below the use- 
ful things of life, for the earth produces suflScicntly fur 
the good of all, and when the people become sufficiently 
numerous, every rood of land will abundantly support 
its man. 

Then how absurd the idea that the cood of the 




304 FARMING AS IT IS. 

farmer is to keep the supply greatly in excess of the 
demand, that the minority may control the majority, 
or the few luxuriate on the toil of the many. Has it 
not been one of the great errors in most farming com- 
munities to study out some way to live cheap, rather 
than to earn enough to live well ; to sell the best and 
consume the poorest ; to discourage trade and business 
rather than encourage it ; to treat those just commenc- 
ing life and the poor with distrust, parsimoniousness 
and jealousy, rather than with liberality, encourage- 
ment and equality ; to make the people poor rather 
than rich, in their anxiety to reduce taxation' and keep 
what they have by withholding from their own the 
means of enterprise and thrift, thereby greatly enhanc- 
ing the former and reducing the latter to the idea of 
the most querulous ; to people the poor-houses rather 
than to supply the means of learning the poor and un- 
fortunate how to earn a living ; to trudge off to the 
cities and distant places for their stores and conven- 
iences of life, rather than furnish their own citizens 
with their patronage and encouragement ? 

All these evils the young men in the country towns 
have to contend with, and to succeed, these influences 
and this opposition must be overcome. But " where 
there is a will, there is a way." It is true, but few 
men in farmino- communities have the means of aidins; 
young men, save by an encouraging word, a little 
timely patronage, and a sympathising interest in their 
success. And oftentimes these are all that are needed 
to establish the desirable object, by creating a nucleus 



THE FARMEES' SONS. 305 

around which, with favorable influences, a permanent 
position Is established. 

In all country towns exist a considerable class of 
half-grown boys, the sons of poor, sometimes Indolent, 
parents, who too often have been made what they are 
by the Influences, a part of which I have named above. 
And as inactivity, passlveness and innocence, in the 
young, whose mental and physical training and habits 
are neglected, are not to be looked for, therefore to open 
some industrial pursuit by which these boys, before 
they are old enough to form vicious and Idle habits, can 
be trained to a business that will afford them a Hvlng 
by their labor, and Inculcate in them habits of indus- 
try, oftentimes relieving the town of the expense and 
the friends the disgrace of a public charge. Although 
all that Is desired In this way cannot be done, yet every 
observing man knows that much may be accomplished 
If the people would strive to assist each other in their 
own neighborhoods, believing that the interest of each 
is the good of all. 

How often we see the people In compact and closely 
populated locaHties doing all they can, — leaving no 
stone unturned to Introduce trade, industry and thrift 
in their midst ; and although we see and know this, 
yet Is It not just as common to see farmers do all they 
can to drive these from them ; looking with a jealous 
eye and often with an insinuating speech upon any who 
dare to presume to make an effort for their own and 
the public good ? 

All these the young men have to contend with, yet 



306 FARMING AS IT IS. 



H 



they should not dishearten them, for a few years of 
industry, promptness and perseverance will give them 
a position that shall last for all time to come, and their 
most bitter opposers will become their most servile 
friends. 

Therefore, taking the whole subject as it stands, and 
viewing the matter in its true light, I can see no rem- 
edy for the evils that exist but this : for all young men 
to firmly resolve upon what they desire to do, and 
spare no time or expense to prepare themselves to pros- 
ecute this with an understanding and will that knows 
no such word as fail. 



CHAPTEE Xn. 

HIS EXCELLENCY GOVERNOR BANKS. LEGISLATION. 
THE CATTLE DISEASE. AGRICI«L,1URAL COLLEGE, 
&C., &C. 

Extracts from Governor Banks' Message — Cattle Disease Calamity — 
Public Money used for Sectional Puri^oses — Farming and Pauper 
Making — Insanity and Suicide — Experts and the Farmer — Law 
and Farming — R(*warding Dishonesty, Watching the Victims — Pi'emi- 
ums and Machinery — Worn-out Pastui'es — Refinement, Civilization 
and Rustics — Guardianship, Industry, and Value of Property — 
Earnings of Massachusetts, Vermont, and Wisconsin — Combination 
of Capital and Labor — Premiums to keep down the Price of Shoes 
— Conscience of the Merchant — Taking the Backward Step — Repeal 
of Statutes — Young America and Her Markets — Cost of Agricultu- 
ral Products — Per cent, for Labor — Agricultural College — Amer- 
icans Emulating the Serfs of the Old Countries — Concord River 
Meadows — Mr. Holbrook's Letter — Reply — Inquiries — Corres- 
pondents and Replies — Science of Humbug and Agricultural Ware- 
houses. 

At the close of your recent message to the Legisla- 
ture, on the prevailing cattle disease, I recognize some 
very important suggestions as regards the industry of 
the country. 

The extract to which I refer is here inserted : 

" No greater calamity will have fallen upon the in- 
dustry of the Commonwealth than the present, if its 
course cannot be checked. But every public calamity 
has in some form, and to an extent which we unwill- 
ingly recognize its compensations. It is impossible to 
avoid or to mitigate the individual distress, or the pub- 

307 



308 , FARMING AS IT IS. 

lie inconvenience that it occasions. But it may lead 
to such changes in the traditions of agricultural indus- 
try as will in the end greatly benefit the country. In 
our own case, it forces upon the attention other meth- 
ods of culture than those upon which we have exclu- 
sively relied. It is not possible now to say how soon 
the farms that have been desolated by slaughter and 
disease can be restocked with neat cattle. It may be 
necessary that we should return to some customs long 
since nearly abandoned. 

" It is a singular fact, exhibited by the census of 
1850, that the number of neat cattle in the United 
States was nearly equal to the number of sheep. In 
our own State, until recently, sheep culture, one of the 
most profitable modes of agricultural investment, for a 
country like our own, has very greatly diminished. It 
is probable that there are half as many dogs as sheep 
in the Commonwealth. If, in consequence of the pres- 
ent disastrous contaoion, such chanijes shall occur as 
the careful consideration of the true and solid agricul- 
tural interests of the Commonwealth may suggest, like 
all the occurrences in human life that are directed by 
the hand of a wise and merciful Providence, it may not 
be found to be altogether unmixed with private and 
j3ublic good." 

It seems by this, that the Governor recognizes this 
" disease " " as a public and individual calamity ;" 
but at the close of this extract, it will be observed, 
that he anticipates it to be a less evil than is generally 
apprehended. And I would particularly call the at- 
tention of the reader to the idea embraced in this par- 
agl'aph. 

" If, in consequence of the present disastrous conta- 
gion, such changes shall occur as the careful consider- 
ation of the true and solid agricultural interests of the 
Commonwealth may suggest, like all the occurrences 



GOVERNOR BANKS, ETC. 309 

in human life that are directed by the hand of a wise 
and merciful Providence, it may not he found to he al- 
together unmixed with private and public good." 

It is often said and I think truly, that an " ounce of 
prevention is worth a pound of cure." 

If Governor Banks can see that this calamity, sup- 
posing it to be as general as a few apprehend, will not 
in the future be so paralyzing, if it places the agricul- 
ture of the country on a " true and solid" foundation, 
how much more wise it would have been to have 
avoided the evil altogether, and saved the treasury un- 
tarnished, by allowing the interest of agriculture, Kke 
all other industrial interests, to its own merits — its re- 
wards and its privations, and preserved uncontaminat- 
ed, public aflPairs with private interests. 

I do not know that this calamity would not have 
happened had a dollar of the people's money never 
have been taken to import '"''hlood stoch" (as it is 
termed) to this country. But I firmly believe such 
would have been the fact, and to reason from analogy, 
from history, from political economy, and upon the 
law of supply and demand, I can see no reason why 
private funds would ever have been invested in that 
direction, had not the public money been used to man- 
ufacture a false theory and a false sentiment, to foster 
favoritism, and ajie foreign aristocracy, and bring for- 
eign servilism upon these Western shores. 

Let us reduce the stock of cattle in the country to 
the wants of the people ; let us keep the public chest 
sacred from private interests ; let us rely on the law 



310 FARMING AS IT IS. 

of supply and demand, to meet all the requirements of 
life, and, above all, let us stop looking across the wa- 
ter, with complacency, upon those institutions and that 
policy for which our fathers struggled so hard to erad- 
icate. And let us give the cattle we have, that care 
and attention which will be conducive to our good and 
interests, and who shall say but what in a few years, 
as Yankee-dom brooks no superiors, foreign capital will 
find its way here, to replenish their degenerated herds, 
and as our cattle shall make their mark in a foreign 
land, perhaps our institutions will be looked upon with 
more complacency. Monarchy being repulsed, De- 
mocracy will take a stride Eastward, and, as an an- 
cient city was preserved by the " quack " of a goose, 
so may Republican institutions. Republican policy, and 
Republican compensation for labor, throughout Europe 
and the Continent, owe its rise to American cows and 
bulls. 

What we want, Governor Banks, in this country, is 
just this. For our good and the glory of our country 
— for the freedom of young and old America, looking 
down into the future of free principles, to the solution 
of the problem of universal equality, existing among 
the people, which was fought for at Bunker Hill, at 
Yorktown, at Saratoga, and at Concord, to be carried 
down to posterity as long as the Saxon blood shall 
flow in the veins of Americans, is to separate pubKc 
polity from individual aggrandizement and individual 
contamination. For as surely as existing public senti- 
ment is harbored and fostered, just so surely wiU phy- 



GOVERNOR BANKS, ETC. 811 

sical and mental imbecility obtain and grow with the 
masses, and the desire and the power also, to tread 
underfoot the rights of the people, by the few. One 
class looking to the treasury for the means to squander, 
the other for bread. 

And since the idea embraced in the above extract 
from your recent message to the great and General 
Court of Massachusetts, harmonizes with viewet barely 
hinted at in this work ; and as you have had the sa- 
gacity to see them, and the honesty to proclaim them 
in an important State Paper, and as the principle in- 
volved in that idea is of incalculable importance to the 
agriculturists of this State and country, and through 
them, to all classes of the people, I have thought it 
well to spend a few moments in familiar chat with you, 
upon a few of the important principles, (as I believe) 
embraced in this work. Hoping that if you are favor- 
ably impressed with the means taken, and if the evils 
under which we labor are to be remedied only by a 
cessation of legislation, after having placed all indus- 
trial pursuits upon an equal footing, that at a proper 
and convenient opportunity, the attention of the free- 
holders, or their representatives, will be called to the 
subject. 

I feel the greater liberty to speak with you upon the 
various matters involved, inasmuch as you stand nom- 
inally at the head of the Board of Agriculture in this 
State, and to whose attention a considerable portion of 
this work is directed. Also, it being the most feasible 
way of caUing public attention to the various subjects 



312 FARMING AS IT IS. 

presented, if thought to be of sufficient importance. I 
only intend to briefly allude to the principal points 
here, the argument will be found elsewhere. 

In the first part of the work I have presented some 
statistics showing that a very much larger per cent, of 
the people in this State become paupers, who were 
bi'ought up to look mainly to agriculture for support, 
than all other classes combined. If this is a fact, is it 
not worthy the attention of all good minds ? For, it is 
plainly evident that if agriculture was equally remune- 
rating with other professions and business, there would 
be far less pauperism among them, for, as a class, it 
will be admitted that they are more prudent, both of 
time and money, more industrious, and less given to 
excesses, than other classes of people. 

If it is claimed that those who work upon the land are 
less intelligent than other classes, and to this cause, 
these facts are to be attributed, then I should say why 
this ignorance, and has the active and discriminating 
laws had anything to do with it ? The statistics to 
which I have referred do not indicate the exact pro- 
portion of pauperism, but sufficiently clear to show 
what I have said. Also, these same statistics show 
that an excess of insanity and suicides is traceable to 
this interest. 

Then, I think I have clearly shown that the earn- 
ings of agriculturists (by instituting various classes of 
statistics) are far below the most economical cost of 
living. If we allow that farm property should pay a 
per cent., such as is recognized by the civil laws of the 



GOVER^SrOR BANKS, ETC. 813 

State, and then subtract the earnings of the farmers 
from that, it will leave but little as compensation for 
the labor. It will plainly appear from the facts pre- 
sented, that the raw material of which crops are made, 
has not been liiirly reckoned, and this is no less the 
cause of evil here than in the great West. Then I 
think I have shown by evidence that is incontroverti- 
ble, that the Board of Agriculture have not acted in 
good faith towards the farmers — that the measures 
they have advocated and claimed lor iheir good, have 
had the contrary effect, and they jiTofess not to see it. 

I have alluded to some of the ancient laws of the 
Commonwealth, as also those more recent, showing 
that they have always borne heavily upon the farmer, 
inasmuch as they place an expert between him and a 
customer, when he goes to market, subjecting him to 
insult and annoyance, depriving him of the privilege 
which is granted to all other classes of men, to put up, 
weigh and measure his own goods, thereby having no 
inchnation to earn a reputation for honesty, integrity 
and the computation of numbers, which shall protect 
him from the sneers of all classes of customers, as he 
cannot be his own salesman only to a limited extent, as 
the law says this man whom he despises, shall be um- 
pire, and dictate the amount and quality of the article 
presented. 

If the farmer wants to purchase a pair of pants, his 
daughter a dress, or his son a watch, articles, the 
quaUty or cost of which, neither know but little, the 
law makes no provision for an expert to stand between 



314 FARMING AS IT IS. 

them and the dealer, and although his pants may be 
made of matted rags Instead of pui-e wool, his daugh- 
ter's dress principally of cotton, with traces only of 
the article she supposed, and his son's gold watch, of 
copper and zinc, and yet the law in neither case pro- 
tects them. But when he exposes a load of wood for 
sale, every stick of which is in view of the customer, 
so that a knot or worm hole can hardly be out of view, 
and the market price is as familiar to the purchaser as 
the indication of the hands of his watch is to the hour 
of the day ; the measurement also is easily calculated, 
as the most simple computation of numbers can be ad- 
justed, and yet the majesty of the law in one case is 
always active, insinuating and efficient, in the other, 
none is required or thought of. For, as it is the genius 
and glory of American jurisprudence to presume all 
men innocent until proved guilty ; but that class ironi- 
cally termed the free and independent yeomanry, these 
the law presumes to be scoundrels, and does not even 
admit the poor privilege of proving the negative. 

I have claimed that the agricultural press, in 
conjunction with the Board of Agriculture, and per- 
haps the popular sentiment of the State and coun- 
try, are at work in manufacturing principles, the 
tendency of which is to place the wages of labor 
on a level with the rewards of toil in the old coun- 
tries. And let this work go on as it has for a few 
years back, and it will not take much of a prophet to 
see, yea, and feel it, too. They hold out and pub- 
lish to the world in their papers and reports, and in 



GOVERNOR BANKS, ETC. 315 

public harangues, the Immense profits of agriculture, 
advising all young men to engage in the business, re- 
commending all farmers to keep the boys drilling upon 
the farm, the effect of which is to totally unprepare 
them for the ability to earn the conveniences of life ; 
consequently, when they arrive at man's estate, they 
find the only business they understand, does not aflTord 
them the means of supplying their most reasonable 
wants, and they then have to strike out anew, in any- 
thing that turns up, and this is a prolific cause of fill- 
ing the country with poor mechanics, poor traders, 
poor preachers, and poor loafers, the effect of which 
is, shoemakers' strikes, increase of pauperism, panics 
in the business world, and at no distant day, soup- 
houses and lodging-houses will be nearly universal, and 
the masses will look to the treasury, and not to their 
own right arms, with an unbending will, for support. 

It is no argument to say that it is often the farmers 
themselves who make these statements, for you tax the 
people's treasury for the means to offer premiums to 
those who can show the greatest product at the least 
cost ; thereby encouraging deception and illy requited, 
persistent toil. For when it is clainT^d that the mate- 
rial of which the crop is made costs little or nothing, 
the interest on the capital is not reckoned, no allowance 
is made for accidents or mishaps, a total or partial fail- 
ure of all other crops and products not going into the 
estimates, the herculean labor to produce it, at a re- 
ward that would starve a nation, not considered ; to 
all these no rebuke is offered, but the people's money 



;^<16 rARMING AS IT IS. 

rewards the whole class of deception, and that man 
who can bring the greatest amount of physical power, 
with the least amount of honest integrity and love for 
his kind, gets the premium. 

Also, that Avhile you offer a premium to those me- 
chanics who will make a machine or implement that will 
cheapen the products of the farmer's toil in the market, 
you never reward him who will produce it to the farm- 
er at the lowest figure ; thereby, while you encourage 
the lowest possible price of farm products while in the 
farmer's hands, you make no effort to cheapen those 
manufactured articles he is obliged to buy. 

I do not wish to be understood as advocating a spirit 
of retaliation, or an effort made to cheapen the price 
of manufactured articles ; for the natural law of which 
I have often spoken — the law of supply and demand 
— is all the law that is needed to regulate all indus- 
trial interests ; but merely refer to it to show how 
far the analogy is carried. I have no objection to a 
mowing-machine paying a profit of nearly a hundred 
per cent., and other inplements in proportion ; but I 
do object to the use of the public money being taken 
to keep down the price of farm products and farm 
property. 

" But every public calamity has in some form, and 
to an extent which we unwillingly recognize, its com- 
pensations." 

I presume the " compensation " to which you here 
refer is this. The country is now overstocked with 
cattle ; consequently, the price of them and the price 



GOVERNOR BANKS, ETC. 317 

of their products is below the cost to produce them ; 
hence, their destruction would not be so serious a " ca- 
lamity," for it would give our worn-out pastures a 
chance to revive, and for a few years the cost to pro- 
duce them (cattle) would be comj^ensated. If this is 
your meaning, then as far as it goes, we agree. But, 
as I before said, an " ounce of prevention is worth a 
pound of cure ; " so if the destruction is sufficiently 
general to make it a paying business to produce them, 
then it would seem to follow that althouo;h it would 
be an individual " calamity," it could not be termed a 
" public " one. It must be admitted that it costs as 
much to produce cattle at one time as at another ; and 
I hold that the supply of this and all other products 
would not at any time get very much ahead of the de- 
mand, were it not for the action of the various ma- 
chinery, which has its head-quarters in the great 
cities, and using the public money to promote sectional 
interests, to the detriment of the general good. 

Now, your Excellency understands where I am, and 
how I view matters. The bane of this country is an ex- 
cess of legislation ; and if free principles are ever en- 
tirely crushed out, and our democracy is continued in 
name only, it will be brought about by this eternal 
hankering after the '• flesh-pots " of the public crib, 
building up monopolies, forestalling public opinion, 
using the people's money for sectional and individual 
interests, keeping the people in ignorance by making 
them believe that constant toil is the remedy for the 
evils that exist, and every year increasing the hungry 



818 FARMING AS IT IS. 

herd at the public crib, till the people have no time or 
inclination to judge for themselves. 

Thus your Excellency will sec that all I have claimed 
for the earnings of agriculture in this work is six per 
cent, on farm capital and one dollar per day for farm 
labor. If this is thought to be too high a figure, then 
I would remind your Honor of the earnings of city 
capital and the earnings of city labor. I know of no 
reason Avhy locality has anything to do with creating* 
or diminishing the needs of physical or mental wants. 
And if plum pudding, roast turkey and champagne, — 
swell-front dwellings, Brussels carpets, and rosewood 
furniture, — fast horses, splendid turn-outs, and silks and 
laces, — an occasional trip to the White Mountains, inno- 
cent amusements and an indulgent clergy, are conducive 
to a high state of civilization in one place, why not in 
another ? We country folks do not object to your 
eight or ten per cent, on your capital, — to your two or 
ten dollars per diem ; but we do object to all special, 
discriminating, anti-republican and monarchical enact- 
ments which empower you to hold the rod of guardian- 
ship over our backs, dictating our industry, squandering 
our earnings, and reducing the value of our property. 

Your Excellency recollects that at the commence- 
ment of this brie^ interview, I spoke of an excess of 
pauperism in the farming districts. The statistics of 
the country indicate other processes of reasoning in re- 
gard to the meagre earnings of the farmers. In order 
to show the actual and comparative earnings of the 
mechanics and farmers, I have taken the statistic* of 
the industry of three States, Massachusetts, Vermont, 



GOVERNOR BANKS, ETC. ol9 

and Wisconsin, presuming these to represent fairly the 
earnings of the Northern States ; Massachusetts rep- 
resenting the mechanical, Vermont the Eastern agri- 
cultural, and Wisconsin the Western agricultural. 

These statistics plainly show that the earnings of 
agriculturists in the East and West, is about one-third 
as much as the mechanics, — that farming in the West 
is no more profitable than in the East. That in neither, 
are the earnings of agricultural labor sufhcient to supply 
the most economical wants of the people. That the far- 
mers have to combine capital with labor, and then earn 
less than mechanics by labor alone. Plainly proving, 
that a trade of some kind, is a surer guarantee of supply- 
ing the wants of the people than a farm. That while 
mechanics wages are hardly sufficient to meet the rea- 
sonable wants of life, farmers wages would not supply 
the most prudent. 

A great part of the difficulty grows out of the ab- 
surdity of the farmer's process of estimating the cost 
of his products. The farmer estimates the whole pro- 
duct as pay for the labor, and the mechanic only that 
part which Is above the cost of the raw material. 
Thus : a shoemaker, in estimating the cost of his 
goods, reckons in this way : 

Cost of a Pair of Ladies^ Fine Gaiter Boots. 

Outside Material, 17 

Linings, 02 

Trimmings, 07 

Leather, • 23 

Binding, 16 

:^Laking 27 

Manufacturing, 05 

— .97 



320 FARMING AS IT IS. 

Thus it seems tliat tliis pair of boots has cost 97 
cents. Now if any one supposes that a man can live 
and sell them for this sum, he is much mistaken. For 
there are many things that have not gone into the cost 
that must be paid by the sale price above this esti- 
mate, or the maker must fail. The time when of 
course depends on the extent of his business, the 
amount of his capital and private expenses. Now 
we see the propriety of that little word profit. 
Out of this profit all losses must come, interest on in- 
vestment, travelling and family expenses, shop rent, 
fuel, postage, and the numerous other items that every 
man but the farmer has sagacity enough to provide 
for. It will be well here to remark, that in reckoning 
the cost of a manufactured article, the outside of all 
the items are put into the estimate. 

Now suppose all shoemakers had been fools enough, 
to have allowed for a long series of years, the schem- 
ing aristocrats, who hover around the public crib, and 
use the people's money, hypocritically professing to 
befriend them, and all the time to their utmost endeavor 
trying to cheapen the price of shoes in the market, and 
to more successfully accomplish this object, the people's 
money, and criminal labor without reward, had been 
used for this purpose. 

This cannot be brought about at once, — only by 
small degrees it is matured. If when shoes had first 
been made, a law had been enacted placing an expert 
between the shoemaker and the purchaser, and the law 
of custom also, had kept a surveillance over all work- 



GOVERNOR BANKS, ETC. 321 

men, then in time premiums had been instituted to 
keep down the price, by rewarding with the people's 
money, those mercenary persons who would make the 
best shoes at the smallest cost. All these things have 
a direct influence on the rewards of labor, and although 
this system would make shoes cheap in the market, yet 
would it not also make shoemakers cheap and less men 
than they are ? For it would be hardly possible to make 
a pair of shoes so cheap, but what some one would be 
mean enough to make them cheaper still, even if it come 
to the fact of stealing the stock, and cheating the work- 
men out of all pay for the labor. This would make 
shoes cheap enough in all conscience, but who would 
get the benefit ? For the retail price of shoes, like all 
things else, does not depend upon the producer's re- 
ceipts, near as much as upon a manufactured money 
market and the flexibleness of the merchant's con- 
science. Now your Excellency will see at once that to 
introduce this system into the shoe business would be 
impossible. An exact counterpart now pertains in the 
farmino; business. And ' although shoes are as neces- 
sary to a civilized, yea, and a savage life too, as bread, 
then if it is the duty of all men to keep up the price 
of one, why not the other ? 

Now as Massachusetts was the first State to put in 
force this anti-democratic, anti-republican, anti-free 
trade and equality among men, princijDle, let her be the 
first to set the glorious example, now and forever, 
break the bonds and establish the principle embraced 
in the declaration, " that all men are created equal." 



322 FARMI^TG AS IT IS. 

Let all societies granting premiums to cheapen labor, 
and using the peoples' money to promote sectional in- 
terests, that are inconsistent with free principles and 
the good of the working masses, be at once repealed ; 
the government administered in its original purity ; 
then Young America will make her mark in the earth. 

In my estimate on the cost of agricultural products, 
I have allowed something more than two-thirds of the 
gross amount of sales as belonging to past labor, and 
should in no case be estimated into the proceeds of 
present wages. This shows the absurdity of the uni- 
versal practice of estimating the total amount of pro- 
ducts as the earnings of the year. Therefore, in all 
our census returns as far as I have seen, the whole 
product is credited to jsresent labor, when less than one- 
third should be. 

Thus, if the farmer estimates his gross amount of 
products in the fall of the year, after his crops are all 
harvested, at three hundred dollars, what proportion 
of that sum represents truly this year's earnings for 
labor ? In our census returns the whole amount is 
given. Then farm capital earns nothing, and the pro- 
ducts are made of nothing. For if the gross value of 
the products simply pays for the labor, what is termed 
farm capital has no intrinsic value. But, allowing 
farm capital six per cent, net, then farm, labor has no 
value. If it is claimed that according to the cost table 
on page 274, that those products often have a market 
value above the cost, then my reply is that farmers do 
not sell grain and vegetable products only to a limited 



GOVERNOR BANKS, ETC. 323 

extent, but convert them into meats of various kinds, 
and dairy products, thereby shrinking fifty per cent^ by 
the operation, allowing for the labor to do this. 

AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES AND SCHOOLS. 

Your Excellency is aware that an effort is being 
made in this country to establish schools or colleges of 
agriculture. Some of our citizens are highly charmed 
with this idea, having witnessed their beauty over the 
water. They have been long established in those coun- 
tries, and their influence has had a marked character 
upon the habits, industry, position, wealth and intelli- 
gence of their people. Do we want to emulate such in 
Republican America ? I repeat it. Do we desire the 
condition of those people to be fastened upon us ? 
Would it be an advance or a retrograde movement ? 
Do we not see landed upon our shores almost every 
day, pupils from these institutions ? And is their po- 
sition, habits, morals, education and social inclinations 
worth)' of emulation among our people ? If an affirm- 
ative answer to these questions can be found in the 
hearts of free Americans, then build your colleges, sap 
the industry of the people to maintain them, increase 
the revenue, pile up the taxes, making a moiety of the 
people lords, the masses serfs. Multiply legislative 
enactments, cramping industry till the people have not 
the time nor the stamina to breathe a noble or an inde- 
pendent thought. Make the science of agriculture a 
hobby to cheat the people of their rights, and fasten 
upon the treasury a voluptuous, imbecile, domineering 
aristocracy. 



324 FAEMING AS IT IS. 

Schools of Agriculture do we need ? then why not 
schools of shoemaking ? Establish these, and " strikes " 
are at an end. The shoemakers are made of no better 
stuff. Twenty-five years of sympathetic legit^lation, 
and the harness can be put on, spurs, bits and all. 
Then turbulent and stiff-necked shoemakers would be 
where the farmers now are, broke to the traces, ready 
to hurrah for every cockney that can ride into aristo- 
cratic circles. Colleges for shoemaking, — colleges for 
tailoring, — colleges for coopering, hooping together 
for a brief period the leaky, rotten, and broken frag- 
ments of the once free and independent principles that 
the blood of our fathers so profusely fertilized this 
Western soil to establish. 

Agricultural colleges do you want ? Then let the 
agriculturists establish and maintain them, without any 
resort to the treasury of the people. This is the rock 
upon which all industrial interests must plant them- 
selves. When this principle is broken, then woe to all 
free and independent thought and action with those 
whose support is lodged in their right arms, and not 
the public chest. If the farmers want colleges, let 
them make them ; and if they are too poor or too im- 
becile to do this, stop legislating to increase this pov- 
erty and imbecility, and they will soon learn whether 
they need them or not. It may be good sport to the 
public loafers to dictate the private interests of the 
farmers, but like the fable of the boys and the frog, 
" it is deatii to us." 



GOVERNOR BANKS, ETC. 325 

The following is the bill that became a law of this 
Commonwealth at the winter session of 1860 : 

An Act to provide for the extirpation of the disease 
called Pleuro-Pneumonia among Cattle. 

Be it enacted, cfcc, as follows : 

Sect. 1. The governor is hereby authorized to ap- 
point three commissioners, who shall visit without de- 
lay the several places in this Commonwealth, where 
the disease among cattle, called pleuro-pneumonia, may 
be knoAvn or suspected to exist, and shall have full 
power to cause all cattle belonging to the herds in 
which the disease has apj^eared, or may appear, or 
which have belonged to such herds since the disease 
may be known to have existed therein, to he forthwith 
hilled and buried, and the premises where such cattle 
have been kept, cleansed and purified ; and to make 
such order in relation to the further use and occupa- 
tion of such premises as may seem to them to be nec- 
essary to pi"event the further extension of the disease. 

Sect. 2. The commissioners shall cause all cattle, 
in the aforesaid herds, not appearing to be affected by 
the disease, to be appraised before being killed, at what 
would have been their fair market value if the disease 
had not existed ; and the value of the cattle thus ap- 
praised shall be allowed and paid out of the treasury 
of the Commonwealth to the owner or owners thereof. 

Sect. 3. Any person who shall knowingly disre- 
gard any lawful order or direction of said commission- 
ers, or who shall sell or otherwise dispose of an animal 
which he knows, or has good reason to suspect has 
been exposed to the aforesaid disease, shall forfeit a 
sum not exceeding five hundred dollars. 

Sect. 4. The commissioners shall make a full report 
to the secretary of the board of agriculture, of their 
proceedings, and of the result of their observations and 
inquiries relative to the nature and character of the 
disease. 



826 FARMING AS IT IS. 

Sect. 5. The commissioners shall duly certify all 
allowances made under the second section of this act, 
and other expenses incurred by them, or under their 
direction, in the execution of their service, to the gov- 
ernor and council ; and the governor is hereby author- 
ized to draiv his warrant therefor zipon the treasury. 

Sect. 6. This act shall take effect from its passage, 
and continue in force for the term of one year there- 
after, and no longer. \_Approved April 4, 1860. ] 

CONCORD RIVER MEADOWS. 

As I have referred to the statute taxing the people 
to drain these meadows, perhaps it would be well to 
place it on record here for the future inspection of 
the tax-payers of the Commonwealth. What Influences 
were brought to bear upon the law-making power of 
the State to fasten upon the people this statute, out- 
raging all principles of justice, establishing a precedent 
the tendency of which is to monopolize private inter- 
ests to public favoritism. I hope the peoj)le will scru- 
tinize this law closely, recollecting that the end is 
not yet. 

An Act in relation to the Flowage of the Meadows 
on Concord and Sudhury Rivers. 

Be it enacted, &c., as follows : 

Sect. 1. The governor is hereby authorized to ap- 
point, with the advice and consent of the council, three 
commissioners, who shall have power and authority to 
take down and remove the dam across the Concord 
Elver at North Billerica, erected by the Proprietors 
of the Middlesex Canal, to a level thirty-three inches 
below the top of an iron bolt in a rock marked on plan 
number two, annexed to the report of the committee 
of the legislature of eighteen hundred and fifty-nine, 



GOVEENOR BAXKS, ETC. 827 

on the Sudbury meatlo-ws, at any time after the first 
day of September next ; and when the same is so re- 
moved it shall not be again rebuilt. 

Sect. 2. Any person injured in his property by 
the removal of such portion of said dam, may apply 
to the county commissioners for Middlesex County to 
estimate his damages occasioned thereby ; and the pro- 
ceedings thereon shall be the same as are now by law 
provided in the case of damages occasioned by the 
laying out of highways, except that notice of the ap- 
plication shall be served on the attorney-general of the 
Commonwealth fourteen days at least before the time 
appointed for the hearing ; and he shall thereupon ap- 
pear and answer to such application in behalf of the 
Commonwealth. Either party aggrieved by the deci- 
sion of the county commissioners shall be entitled to 
have a jury to determine the matter, if applied for at 
the meeting at which the decision of the commissioners 
is rendered, or at the next regular meeting thereafter, 
but not afterwards ; and the proceedings thereon shall 
be the same as are now provided in the case of high- 
ways. 

Sect. 3. A7ii/ damages that may he recovered on 
such application, together with legal costs, shall be 
paid out of the treasury of the Commonwealth ; and 
the Governor is hereby authorized to draw his warrant 
therefor. 

Sect. 4. The removal of such portion of said dam, 
under this act, shall operate as a bar to any suits by 
the proprietors of lands flowed by said dam for any 
damages sustained thereby, and may be pleaded and 
proved as such in any court. 

Sect. 5. The commissioners appointed by the gov- 
ernor shall, after said dam is taken down as provided 
in this act, cause a permanent mark of the height 
thereof to be made, and a plan and description of the 
height thereof to be made and recorded in the registry 
of deeds for Middlesex County at Cambridge and 
Lowell ; and the services and expenses of the commis- 



S28 FARMING AS IT IS. 

sioners shall be paid out of the treasury of the Com- 
monwealth, and the account shall be audited and 
allowed in the manner now provided for by law. 

Sect. 6. The supreme judicial court, or any jus- 
tice thereof, shall have power to set aside any verdict 
rendered under this act, upon the petition of either 
party thereto for the reason that the damages are ex- 
cessive, or for any legal cause, and exceptions may be 
taken to the rulings in matters of law by either party, 
at any trial under this act, which exceptions shall be 
decided by the supreme judicial court, as in other 
cases. \_A2)proved April 4, I860.] 

Brattleboro\ June 18, 1860. 
T. J. PiNKHAM, Esq : 

Dear Sir — Your favor of April 3d, was duly re- 
ceived, and I certainly owe you an apology for so long 
delaying a reply. I intended to answer you at once, 
but was called from home for a fortnight, and since 
that have been exceedingly occupied. 

Your inquiry relative to the profits of farming, as I 
have found them in my own experience, opens a wide 
field, and I have neither time nor space now to enter 
upon a full reply. 

For a number of years in former life, I did no other 
business than farming, and that was my only reliance 
for a subsistence. 

Sudden fortunes, or a rapid accumulation, through 
the legitimate business of agriculture, cannot be ex- 
pected, and are not realized. But I have found by ex- 
perience, that moderate profits, above a good substan- 
tial, but not extravagant living, may be realized from a 
good system of farming. Land will, in my experience, 
pay for being tilled liberally and well, — far better, in- 
deed, than if the old skinning system of shallow plow- 
ing, scant manuring, and close cropping is practised. 
The surest way is to feed the soil highly, and give it 
thorough tillage. 

Deep plowing, at once, where the subsoil is favor- 
able, and a gradual deepening where the subsoil is 



GOVERNOR BANKS, ETC. 329 

feeble, in either case accompanied with high manuring, 
has been my practice, and I have succeeded well with 
it, where I should on the same land have run behind 
by the old traditional system of shallow plowing, and 
light or no manuring. When young and poor, I grad- 
ually advanced to a better condition of affairs by the 
above mode of culture. Every available means for in- 
creasing manures, within a reasonable expense, was re- 
sorted to, — feeding out the crops wherever I could 
get as much, and sometimes even not more than three- 
fourths as much for them in other forms as though they 
had been sold off for cash and the land robbed of the 
manure they would make. 

I could write many pages, and ought to do so to con- 
vey my whole meaning, and fortify it by my reasons. 
But I have not the time. Kespectfully yours, 

F. HOLBROOK.* 

Comments. The reader will please give this letter 
of Mr. Holbrook's a careful perusal. If I understand 
him, he carefully avoids answering the interrogatories 
embraced in my note, viz. : 1. Have you so kept the 
figures as to be able to say if your farming has, or has 
not, been profitable ? and 2. Have you made it profit- 
able ? 

It must be inferred from this letter that Mr. Holbrook 
has not kept the figures, but that when young, he was 
poor, but is now the reverse. All this may be, and he 
never have done anything but farm ; that proves noth- 
ing. The question is, has your fanning paid a fair 
per cent, on the capital invested, and living wages ? 

* This letter of Mr. Holbrook was not received till the most part 
of this book was ia type, which is my apology for not placing it in 
connection with the favors of my other correspondents, whose 
notes are published. 



330 FARMING AS IT IS. 

It strikes me that these are very simple questions, and 
it need not hinder a man long to answer them. Have 
you kept the figures ? Yes. Have you made money ? 
Yes. If this is the fact, that is all I want to know. 
In this connection, I care nothing about your philoso- 
phy of agriculture. " But I have found by experience, 
that moderate profits above a good substantial, but not 
extravagant Kving, may be realized from a good sys- 
tem of farming." 

This comes nearly to the point, but not quite. If a 
man inherited a farm when young, and the land was 
of but little value, and he felt poor then, but in time, 
foreign capital run a railroad through the town, outside 
capital built up manufactures there, and from these rea- 
sons, wood, timber, stone, and the soil itself became 
valuable ; and our once poor man found by looking 
over the assessors book, that this same property made 
him rich, does that show farming to be profitable ? 

This whole letter of Mr. Holbrook's is a stronoj ar- 
gument, as I understand it, in favor of my position, 
viz. that the only hope of the farmers, is to encourage 
and build up mechanical business in their midst. Keep 
the young men and the young women at home, give 
them all the means in your power to cultivate the mind, 
learning them to be good merchants, traders, mechan- 
ics, schoolmasters and schoolmistresses, dress makers, 
milliners, &c., with just enough farm work to develope 
the system. Learn them to be good livers, making them 
believe that the earth produces bountifully, and it is a 
duty they owe to themselves and the race, to consume 
liberally all the useful things of life, and also, that 



GOVERNOR BANKS, ETC. 331 

thej must learn to bring tlieir income up to this. 
Above all, learn them to abhor the idea that for them to 
live well, somebody else must half live. Could the 
farmers of this country get rid of what is ironically 
called the agricultural press, — all this humbug legisla- 
tion, and vote a leave of absence to a portion of the 
quack farmers who in order to till their lands, farm the 
public chest, leaving all industrial interests free, then, 
and not till then, can farming be made remunerative. 
For a few years you Vermont farmers sold your labor 
and income for a little more than a living, on the growth 
of your stock, but the last two years has placed you 
back again, and from this crisis, the recovery must be 
slow. 

If you are wise in time, from this you may recover, 
but if you would have farming a paying business, and 
honest labor rewarded as it should be, stop in season 
all legislation for any and all industrial interests. This 
is more important to inland than commercial States. 
For if our farming suffers, our commercial and me- 
chanical industry at brief periods will be prosperous, 
and from this cause we shall make some progress, al- 
though from constant fluctuations, it must be unhealthy 
and demoralizing. 

In speaking of this redundancy of legislation, it re- 
minds me of a remark of Ex-Governor Colby, of New 
Hampshire, in the discussion of the humbug " cattle 
disease,'* in their legislature, who is reported to have 
said : 

" I fear this superabundant legislation a thousand 
times more than any cattle disease. I am a farmer, — 



332 FARMING AS IT IS. 

have a stock of cattle, and think I can take care of 
them without any help from the State." 

This, I presume, was intended as an honest rebuke, 
from an old man and a farmer, to our mushroom, treas- 
ury farming fraternity, who have passed an edict, com- 
pelling many farmers in this State to go to the "Board" 
or their deputies for a written permit to drive their 
cows to pasture, and giving them authority to grant or 
refuse it. O, that we had the spirit, the sagacity, and 
the honest integrity of this old man, in the young 
farmers scattered all over this State, who should man- 
age their own affairs without any help from the quacks 
of monarchical invention, and would rise up in their 
might and " shake the dry bones," like Belshazzar of 
old. 

Thus I have wandered a little in my reply to your 
epistle, and will conclude by saying that I regret that 
you had not so understood my request as to have given 
me a dollar and cent view of the matter in plain terms, 
for you imply that your successes are to be attributed 
to the causes to which I have briefly alluded, and not le- 
gitimate farming. Then why not in plain terms have 
said so ? For you must see that if a rich man can 
hardly live and hold his own by farming, an honest 
poor man must be put to extremities. And at no dis- 
tant day, in Free America, the second part of the same 
policy will be established throughout our -midst, soup 
houses for the populace, and a standing army to keep 
them in subjection. If this is what is wanted, then 
multiply the statutes and pile up the taxes, till the rev- 
enue monopolizes a large part of the industry of the 
people. 



• GOVERNOR BANKS, ETC. 333 

INQUIRIES. 

I have often been somewhat amused at the interrog- 
atories sent by farmers to editors of city papers, asking 
of the city gents all sorts of questions upon matters re- 
lating to the farm. So completely have the cities got 
control of the country farming interests, if not of the 
country farmers, that it would seem that the cultivation 
of the soil, and the cultivators of the soil, too, are but 
a mere anjunct to city cultivators of country farm ma- 
chinery. 

I speak of this because it involves an idea, and such 
an idea as I want to see eradicated. Because, if farm- 
ers do not understand their business, it is a mighty 
poor plan to learn it by going to the cities. For the 
cities use their money like water, to farm you out of 
your farm products, and are doing all they can to farm 
you out of your farms. These are what they want, 
and they care no more about the living, moving, breath- 
ing, toiling farmers and their welfare, than they do 
about a last year's almanac. 

As evidence of this, behold the impositions they 
have heaped upon you by the free use of funds in lob- 
bying bills through recent legislatures ; the direct ten- 
dency of which is to make paupers of the people, and 
cheat the sun-burnt farmer of his inheritance. Where 
is the farmer that does not believe that the hundreds 
of cattle that city doctors, for the want of a job 
plunged their long knives into, would have grazed 
peacefully upon your hills, had the tiller of the public 
chest been kept closed from hypocritical invasion ? 

As further evidence, look over the letters published 
in this book, and see if they show that the quacks un- 



334 FARMING AS IT IS. 

derstand the business after all, any better tban the reg- 
ular doctors. Look at their reasoning, their philoso- 
phy, and their motives. One says, " I have not kept 
the figures, and my experience would not be valuable 
to you." 

Another says, " I do not claim to have received a 
profit," &c., &c. Another, "I have not, however, 
kept an account of receipts and expenditures. It is 
my purpose to do so in future." Another goes up into 
New Braintree, and finds some things " as proof of 
my (his) assertion," that facts does not warrant, and 
holds this out as the " banner town," worthy of emula- 
tion, that is going down hill every year, and is remark- 
able for nothing but old maids, misers and gradual de- 
population. No wonder that some doctors are looking 
outside the "profession " for means to farm their "large 
investments." And if a general uuthriftness that per- 
tains in my friend's " banner town " prevailed, I am 
thinking that more of the profession would have to 
look to some kind of doctoring outside of the regular 
practice. 

. And since the Commonwealth has taken up " blood 
letting," on a rather magnificent scale, who can say 
but what the science of pharmacy is to be revived and 
the four-legged, or bovine animals are to take their 
turn at being '•'•pilled and powdered^^ while the two- 
legged are " hled^^ to repletion ; just for the fun of the 
thing, and to keep business moving. 

I submit here a few of the inquiries to which I re- 
ferred at the commencement of this article. 



GOVERNOR BANKS, ETC. 335 

" Messrs. Editors : — I wish to inquire of you the 
proper way of preparing a light soil for the reception 
of onion-seed — the distance between the plants, and 
the best mode of culture. Also, which is the best and 
most productive kind ? The same with regard to car- 
rots ; and which is the most profitable of the two ? (a) 

A short time since, I purchased a colt G months old. 
He is badly afflicted with worms. Can you inform me 
how to rid him of them ? (6) Can you purchase for 
me the best work extant, on the rearing and manage- 
ment of horses and remedies of their various diseases ? 
(c) It will make no difference whether the above 
subjects are combined in one volume or separate 

Attleboro,' Mass., Jan. 8, 1857. 

a. Our Essex county friends are well qualified to 
answer these questions, and we shall be pleased to 
have them do it. 

6. Feed with carrots and early cut-clover or rowen 
hay. 

c. Buy Youatt's treatise, on the Horse. The Eng- 
lish edition is best, but as it may be difficult to get it, 
buy the American edition edited bv Skinner. It can 
be had of J. P. Jewett & Co., 117 Washington street." 

Isn't it funny ; going down to Boston to get informa- 
tion in preparation of soils, — sowing onion seeds, — 
feeding colts, &c. ? If it had been an oat crop about 
which my friend from the country had been in a quan- 
dary, doubtless any desired information might have been 
obtained, as the city bucks understand sowing this crop 
perfectly, particularly if they are inclined to be a little 
^'"wildy And then they have a peculiar faculty of 
coaxing the dear people to foot the bills. So the old 
adage that " those who dance must pay the fiddler," is 
in a measure obsolete, as it now refers mainly to rural 
" break-downs." 



336 FAEMING AS IT IS. 

Another country friend inquires for information on 
the following subjects, and is politely replied to by the 
editor, as is seen by his " remarks : " 

HORSE RAKES -MOWIISTt MACHINES. 

" What is the price, each, of Bradley's and Whit- 
comb's Horse Rakes, and of Wood's Mowing Ma- 
chine ? 

Mockville, June^ 1860. 

Remarks. — We have made inquiry, and cheerfully 
answer the questions of our correspondent, but wish to 
say that we have no connection with any agricultural 
warehouse, and when we answer such inquiries, are 
obhged to go purposely to get the information. 

Bradley's horse rake is $10 ; Whitcomb's, with 
wheels, is $22, and without wheels, is $16. Wood's 
one-horse mower is $70, and the two-horse, $80. All 
for sale by Nourse & Co., 35 Merchants' Row, Boston." 

My friend of the Farmer says, " We have made in- 
quiry, and cheerfully answer the questions of our cor- 
respondent, but wish to say that we have no connection 
with any agricultural warehouse, and when we answer 
such inquiries, are obliged to go purposely to get the 
information." 

When my friend from Rockville^visits the city, per- 
haps he can see for himself how Jar the editor had " to 
go purposely to get the information." 

At the head of the first column on the first page of 
the editor's paper, in display type, are the foUowIng 
words : " New England Farmer. Published every 
Saturday, at No. 34 Merchants' Row." At the close 
of the editor's " remarks," are these words : '* All for 
sale by Nourse & Co., 34 Merchants' Row, Boston." 



GOVERNOR BANKS, ETC. 337 

I have always supposed that it was the same 
" Nourse " that stands at the head of the Boston Agri- 
cukural warehouse, that stands at the head of the New 
England Farmer. 

I have always supposed that it was the same Nourse 
that nurses the stubborn iron into ploughshares, that 
nurses the brittle ash into rake stales, the flexible hick- 
ory into ox-bows, and the unyielding oak into various 
farm implements, that nurses the New England Farmer 
into this livins;, humbugged world. 

I have sujDposed that at No. 34 Merchants' Row, a 
farmer can buy tools, seeds, New England Farmers^ 
and other wares to his liking, for cash. 

I have supposed that in one corner of the above ag- 
ricultural warehouse was the New England Farmer 
office, same as the farmer's calf-pen is in one corner of 
his tie-up. And although there may be little " con- 
nection " between the two, yet when the farmer takes 
down the bars to let his calf out to nurse, the separa- 
tion would not be considered very essential. Farm im- 
plements and farm literature, one as flexible as the 
other, made to order, and warranted to suit ; and none 
of your common stuff, but the real simon pure article, 
cheap for cash, and warranted not to cut in the eye. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE FUTURE. 

Farmers' Sons and Daughters — Anecdote of a King — Number of Men 
who Fail — Comparative Earnings — Blacksmithing and Farming — 
How to tell when a Crop will pay — Farmers' Daughters — Gov- 
Brown and the Girls — His Tour Through the State — Mr. Wiseman's 
Example — Degradation of Foreign Labor — Emperor of Russia and 
the Serfs — Cause of Labor being Degraded — Market Days — Cattle 
Disease — Appropriations — Conclusion — Right Position — St. Paul 
and the Christians — Harmony of the Calculations, and the Sentiment 
Expressed — A Farmers' Organ — Questions for the People. 

I WANT to have a little chat now with the farmers' 
boys and the farmers' girls. Young America. The 
future of the land of the Pilgrims, and the home of 
LIBERTY. It is no mean position to be a native born 
citizen of this Republic. And you (" Young Amer- 
ica,") are to write its future history. Then look to it, 
that the home of Wasliino;ton and of the Revolution- 
ary fathers, never becomes desecrated. As labor fails 
of meeting a suitable reward, so that the masses lose 
their independence, and as the products of labor are 
its representative, therefore, as they are cheap or dear, 
it is recompensed. 

To illustrate what I want to say, before I say it, al- 
low me to relate a little anecdote : 

A certain King; wished to show to the world that 
much that passed for wisdom and intelHgence, as ema- 

338 



THE FUTUEE. 339 

nating from authority, was often vague and shallow. 
Therefore he summoned the lords and nobles of his 
empire into his presenee, and propounds to them this 
question. Filling a vessel with water, he says, " Why 
is it that if I place a fish in this water, the whole Avill 
not weigh any more then than before the addition of 
the fish ? " The senior among the learned heads of 
the crown, commenced in a very grave and dignified 
manner to give a philosophical and learned explanation 
of the fact, which was listened to with a good deal of 
attention by the audience. 

The next in senority took up the subject in a similar 
manner, till it went round the "board" to the junior 
of the company, who was a very young man, and 
whose reputation for sagacity and wisdom was then 
supposed to come to the test, that a record of his future 
might be made. He delivered himself in this wise : 
" My lord and my seniors, would it not be well, in the 
first place, to ascertain if such is the fact ? " 

" Enough," exclaimed the King, " it is not a fact 
My only purpose was to show that much that passes for 
' wise sayings,' and the doings of the functionaries, 
is, at best, rather shallow and untrue in fact, and per^- 
nicious in principle." 

My object in relating this little story was to show to 
the young men the importance of examining all sub- 
jects for themselves. Take no man's " ipse dixit^'' but 
inquire if " such is the fact." As in buying a farm, it 
is quite as essential to examine the subsoil as the sur- 
face soil, so in an examination of the professions or the- 



340 FARMING AS IT IS. 

ories of men, it is quite as important to look down into 
the motive which pi'ompts them to action and specula- 
tion ; as the play behind the scene, if exposed to view, 
would often greatly mar the exhibition, and expose the 
actors to that place in the public estimation which their 
merits or demei'its would consign them. 

Thus, when we hear the oft-repeated tale that ninety- 
nine men out of every hundred who engage in business 
outside of farming, fail, just ask the interlocutor where 
he got his information, and look closely at the motive 
that prompted the " insane " assertion. It is not to be 
denied that many men who engage in trade fail, but 
who are these men ? This is the question. If we di- 
vide the business community into three classes, placing 
all those who engage in business, trade or manufac- 
tures, having previously learned to do what they de- 
sire to do, and prosecuting this business with honesty 
of purpose, with industry and economy, how many of 
this class of men fail to succeed ? This is placing the 
question where it belongs. For when we desire to 
draw a comparison between two classes of men, having 
an honest purpose in view, desiring to come at truthful 
conclusions, then let the parallel between the parties be 
in unison with each other. 

Another class of men who engage in trade, consti- 
tuting a large per -cent, of the whole amount, although 
honest, prudent and industrious, yet they fail from the 
very fact of having had little or no previous training ; 
undertaking to do what they do not know how to do. 
And I regret to be obliged to say, that a large per cent. 



THE rUTURE. 341 

of these are the fanners' sons, who having been worked 
upon the farm till their majority, having had no other 
purpose but to follow the business of tlieir parents, till 
arriving at man's estate, then finding that this fails to 
meet their expectations, and furnish them suitable 
means of support, branch out into the first opening 
that presents itself, and no wonder that a disappoint- 
ment is the result. 

Another, and the last of the three classes, are those 
who engage in trade, having, perhaps, many of the re- 
quisites of the other two, but lack all of their virtues. 
These men are that reckless portion of the people Avho 
are up to anything and everytliing, that will minister to 
their selfish natures, regardless of principle, or the 
rights of others, inasmuch as their own interests and 
animal propensities are satiated. If they fail, they fail, 
it is but a week's job any way ; and they often come 
out glossed up, improved, and ready for another move 
that will distance the preceding, as their 2:40 nags, 
does the farmer's pacer. 

I am not a going to say that none of the first class to 
whom I have referred, fail, but will say this much, that 
were it not for losses sustained in consequence of the 
rascality or the misfortunes of the other two, seldom 
would there be a failure among them. 

Forty-nine men out of every fifty who fail, can show 
an excess of assets over disbursements ; consequently, 
their failure was in consequence of losses sustained, and 
not for a want of a per cent, on their goods. If I were 
asked to name the original cause of a large proportion 




342 FARMING AS IT IS. 

of all the failures in the country, I should answer by 
reiterating what I have said in another place ; that the 
farmers become in debt to the traders, and when their 
products become so abundant that the sale price hardly 
pays the labor bill, then their payments are so tardy 
(often being obliged to mortgage their real estate,) that 
the retailer is obliged to have his paper extended, and 
often re-extended, and this running all the way through 
to the jobber, wholesale dealer, and the mechanic, caus- 
ing a stoppage, and one extension paving the way for 
another, till they get agoing, then it may be likened to 
a row of bricks, and a general panic is the result. Vide 
the panics of '43, '49 and '57. 

As to the per cent, of all business men who fail, I 
can not tell, but am perfectly clear in saying it is 
generally set far too high. For the last twenty years 
in the city of Lynn, I do not believe it would come up 
to five per cent, annually. In fact, for long periods of 
time, a failure is unheard of. And let me say 
here, that a large per cent, of the shoemakers of Lynn, 
when young, commence business for themselves, and 
generally with what capital they have saved from their 
earnings over their expenses. And while I know of 
many who have succeeded, I never knew but few who 
did not. It is true that many do not like the perplex- 
ity of business, and such give it up, but to say they 
have failed, would be a libel upon their reputation and 
the craft. 

Then let me say that business men generally are en- 
tire strangers to any such economy as is practiced by 



THE FUTURE. 343 

the farmers. In their business transactions they are 
far more exacting and particular, but in their private 
affairs more liberal and profuse. The farmers have no 
successes, — every dollar they get costs them two, put- 
ting the value upon their labor that other classes get. 
When a tailor's clerk can ride in his carriage, and 
boast of a higher salary than many of the govenors of 
the States ; when the salary of a shoemaker's foreman 
will buy a good farm every other year ; when a dry 
goods clerk can take his family to the theatre three 
nights in a week, and go to the White Mountains 
or Saratoga in the warm season ; then let no farmer's 
boy begrudge the time or the pittance of expense to 
prepare for something more congenial to his inclination 
and pocket, than tilling the soil. 

There are scattered all through the country towns 
more or less traders and business men, whom the farm- 
ers know. Does ninety-nine per cent, of them fail ? I 
think not, A majority of them succeed, and sometimes 
become wealthy. Then what is the object of retailing 
this slander upon the people ? Simply to increase the 
products of the soil. Three-fourths of the people are 
farmers. One-fourth, at least, too many. 

A blacksmith will make the shoes and nails, and shoe 
two horses a day, earning from $2.50 to $3.00. The 
stock, the coal, the shop rent, with six per cent, in- 
terest on the capital, could not be called more than 70 
cents per day, or 35 cents a set or horse. What one 
smith asks, all the others in the vicinity ask. In the 
fall or spring, summer or winter, it is the same. With 



344 FARMING AS IT IS. 

all this we find no fault. The wages are none too 
high, the uniformity of prices are worthy of imitation. 
The farmer knows when he wants a job done, Avhat the 
price is, and there is no bantering about it. But when 
the scale is turned, and the farmer desires to pay this 
bill in his way, then a long parley is to be instituted. 
If the farmer can persuade the smith to take a quarter 
of beef or half a porker, in part payment for his bill, it 
will take more than three days labor of the farmer to pay 
one of the smith's. If we institute a comparison between 
the farmer and other mechanics, the result will be none 
the better. If the comparison is drawn between the 
farmer and either of the professions, then the difference 
is more glaring. These are some of the reasons why I 
advise the young men to learn how to do something 
but farming. There will always be farmers enough. 
The danger is, that there will not be enough to con- 
sume what is produced, and make it pay to produce it. 

One of my neighbors said to me the other day that 
he agreed with me, but he did not see how my theory 
can be reduced to practice. I asked him why not, and 
his reply was, " because we do not know but that our 
products will pay till they are matured." I take this 
opportunity to thank him for the suggestion, as that 
opens an important inquiry, and is just the question I 
am glad to meet. 

Can we tell before producing a crop whether it is 
a going to pay ? How does the blacksmith know when 
making his shoes, but that the market will be over- 
stocked, and his labor will be lost ? 



THE FUTURE. 345 

How does the tailor, the shoemaker, the cabinet- 
maker, the tinsmith, and all trades people know, but 
that their goods will lay on their hands uncalled for, 
and their labor and capital will be lost ? How does 
the doctor, the laAvyer, and the preacher know, but that 
their professions will be over-stocked, the pay reduced, 
and they left to starve ? 

These considerations are all important, and should be 
carefully met. A considerable portion of this book is 
a direct answer to these various subjects. When the 
people can be induced to stop legislating upon any and 
all interests, the prosecution of which is a means of 
living to them, then these evils will subside. The an- 
tidote, — the pound of cure, for all the evils of our in- 
dustrial interests, is, stop legislating / Eely upon the 
natural laws of supply and demand, and our country is 
safe, the people free, and industry rewarded. 

You ask the blacksmith to shoe your horse for a 
dollar, — tell him that he made the shoes himself, con- 
sequently he had to pay out nothing for work, his shop 
is full of shoes, and they will soon go out of fashion, 
iron is on the fall, coal is down, the times hard, and 
money scarce ! 

" Admitting all you say to be true," says the smith, 
" my price is eight shillings, and for no other price can 
your work be done at this shop." 

" Then I will go somewhere else. I have been a 
good customer to you, always had my work done here, 
but am going to have it done cheaper in future." 

" You can go where you please, but mind me, no 
smith in this vicinity will do the work for less. We 



'346 FARMING AS IT IS. 

have but one price, — what I ask they all ask. When 
we work we intend to have pay, — you will be used 
just as all others are. I presume I know my business, 
the price of coal, iron, &c., and what the fashion is, as 
well as my neighbors, and when a man expects to see 
the craft scabbed, he has got to go to another shop." 

" You talk well, but look here, neighbor, I have to 
sell milk for two cents a quart, butter, beef, and many 
other things at that rate, and how am I a going to live?" 

"That is your business and not mine. I calculate I 
know how to make my own figures, and if you don't, 
you had better go to school." 

" But I get what other folks do." 

*' You have no system, — you don't know what a 
single article you make costs, you are controlled by a 
few designing men, every thing is hap-hazard, hilter- 
skilter, — hard work and poor pay. At one time, IJ 
bushels of potatoes will pay for shoeing your horse ; 
at another, it will take four. Your prices are not uni- 
form, — greatly fluctuating, when you get a good crop, 
you call it lucky, and never reckon the losses on the 
part or total failure of other crops, into the cost of 
this. You say you are selling milk for two cents per 
quart. No wonder you want your Lorse shod for a 
dollar. I do not see how you can afford to have him 
shod at all. It is true your farm was left you, you 
work hard, live poor, and if you die in any kind of sea- 
son, and without much expense, there may be a little 
left for the widow and little ones. I speak thus plainly, 
because I feel to sympathize with you. I was brought 
up on a farm, my father was a farmer, and I have lived 



THE FUTURE. 347 

in a fiirmlng community all my days. If you want me 
to make you a present, I will freely do so. But as for 
working under price, I will not. I have too much re- 
spect and regard for my brother craftsmen, my own 
reputation, and the feelings of my children and family, 
even if there were no principle involved, to earn the 
reputation of a ' scab. ' " 

*' Do I understand you by this, that I am doing a 
bad, a Avicked, an unchristian act, by selling my pro- 
ducts at a price that gives but little return for the labor 
to produce them ? " 

" Most certainly, you do. You are virtually saying 
to all poor men, you shall not earn a living by your 
labor at farming. You are driving them to the cities, 
into something they do not understand ; to become 
jockies, speculators, loafers, and in the end, to the poor 
house or the penitentiary. You virtually abscind the 
scriptural injunction, 'the laborer is worthy of his 
hire.' You not only keep down the price of labor, but 
are doing all you can to reduce the price of your 
neighbor's property. As long as you crowd the mar- 
ket beyond the necessary wants of the people, so that 
the price of products is far below a reasonable compen- 
sation for labor, of course capital will be constantly re- 
ceding from the farming districts to something that will 
pay ; and were it not for the profitableness of trade 
and commerce, the whole country would be 'bankrupt- 
ed. You are mortgaging the country towns to the 
cities, the pi'oducers to the non-producers, — making 
serfs of one class, and lords of the other." 



348 FARMING AS IT IS. 

" You still talk well, but look here, did you hear that 
man* from Boston lecture the other day ? He said that 
science had improved our breed of cattle, — that for 
some crops our light soil was too rich, — that cattle 
might be fattened on swale hay and turnips alone, — 
that our children should be educated for farming as a 
profession. And many other things that were very 
nice, only he wound off by saying something about 
farm labor and slave labor, that I did not exactly like." 

" That was Mr. Flint, Secretary of the Board of Ag- 
riculture. I heard that lecture, and although I do not 
remember anything he said ; but let me tell you, that 
if he said what you say he did, I am in no wise disap- 
pointed. He is paid for going round lecturing, — has 
a salary of some $2,000 a year, and when asked in 
plain terms, by farmer Pinkham, to state what his own 
experience in the matter was, he backed down, — Avas 
ashamed, I presume, to reply, as he does not know but 
little about agriculture, only what some one has told 
him. And you know that a man cannot sit down in 
the parlor and do land farming to advantage. His 
farming, — treasury farming, — of course can there be 
done the best. As long as the people will pay liberally 
to have a public sentiment, farmed upon the farmers, 
to induce them to sell milk and other things, at half 
the cost to produce them, so long will men enough be 
found, — bemg weU stocked with " Jrass," — to engage 
in the business." 

* Flint's lecture before the Hampshire Society. 



THE FUTURE. 349 

" Now, I desire that you and all other farmers 
should set up for yourselves, ascertain what you can 
afford to do, and allow no men or body of men, under 
profession of friendship, or for any other cause, to in- 
fluence you a particle In the matter. It does not fol- 
low that because you have got a farm and a family to 
support, that you should waste your labor, excessively 
work your wife and children to feed at small cost the 
sharpers of our cities and market places. The way to 
make your farm pay Is to do nothing that will not pay 
to do. Pay no attention to what ' Mrs. Grundy ' says, 
I know of but few farms but what will pay without 
labor six per cent, interest, crediting the rent of the 
buildings to the farm. Then the only question is, what 
shall you do, what shall your wife do, and how shall 
the children be occupied ? These are very important 
considerations, and which every man should investigate 
for himself. To be idle is out of the question. To 
work at a loss will not do ; to make yourself useful at 
home and abroad is a duty. I have seldom seen a man 
of Intelligence, with good habits, at a loss to know 
what to do. Then, this opens a vast field for thought, 
study and reflection. The whole country teems with 
fit occupation, worthy the consideration of free, intelli- 
gent, earnest effort, by aU her people. Every man 
must study, reflect, investigate, plan, prosecute and 
encounter for himself. I cannot tell you what to do 
but if you desire to profit by my example, you can do, 
so. I hope I have too much principle, — too much re- 
gard for my kind, to throw my labor in the market at 



350 FARMING AS IT IS. 

a price that will drive all poor men to extremities. 
And it would make no diflPerence to me what idle, 
brassy men had to say, who fatten upon sophit-try, and 
indulge upon the credulity of an over-worked populace." 

Thus all young men will readily understand the 
practical effect of the principle of our friend, the black- 
smith. If he has spoken truly, then adopt his reason- 
ing, imitate his example, and reduce to practice his 
philosophy. And my word for it, — the word of a 
farmer who drains his own meadows, — all will be well. 

This is the idea that I desire to firmly impress upon 
the minds of all young men. The old I do not expect 
wiU heed it much. I understand human nature too 
well for that, although I desire their co-operation, and 
to profit by their practical observation. 

We have almost universally practiced upon the idea 
that the only cheap way to keep up the fertihty of our 
land was to keep domestic cattle. Thus, we have kept 
all Ave could, often more than we could keep well, and 
yet our lands have been all the time growing poorer. 
I am now speaking generally, — the general practice. 
Look at it a moment, and see how it is. Our virgin 
soils are exhausted. What has exhausted them ? Cer- 
tainly, we have kept all the cattle we could, and yet 
they are exhausted. Then again, what made them 
ricli ? Was it domestic animals, or were they made so 
before animals were introduced to them ? Was it not 
the cultivation of the Red-man ? 

Recollect that the principle of natural philosophy is, 
that nothing is lost. And it is equally true that noth- 



TnE FUTUEE. ^51 

ing is created. Change is all there is to it. When I 
say that animals exhaust lands, I do not mean as a 
whole. One man's farm becomes exhausted because 
he keeps more animals than is for his good. Another 
keeps few animals, and his fields and pastures are 
constantly increasing in fertility. What exhausts 
land is cropping ! cropping ! ! cropping ! ! ! It makes no 
difference whether it is done with the scythe, or the 
hoe of the farmer, or with the ivory of the horse or 
cow. Everything that is carried off leaves the land to 
that extent incompetent to reproduce its counterpart. 

The great West is becoming exhausted, and it cer- 
tainly is not for lack of cattle. Ohio, New York, and 
New England are already exhausted, and it is not 
because we have no domestic animals. My neighbors 
are selling milk all around me for about two cents 
per quart, in order to keep up the fertility of their 
farms. We have been making beef and pork for the 
same purpose. All these things have a positive, 
direct, and unmistakable influence to make and 
keep the land exhausted, and the purse-strings from 
wearing out. 

As well might our blacksmith have exhausted his 
shop of iron and coal, and his purse of the shiners, by 
wshoeing at half-price, as the farmer to rob his family 
and his shop or soil, by acting upon a false and perni- 
cious principle, to cater to the unhallowed desires of a 
scheming clique. 

It will now be seen that there is no need of throw- 
ino- our labor away to get interest on our capital, or 



852 FAEMING AS IT IS. 

waste the per cent, on the capital to get pay for our 
labor. Neither is it necessary to exhaust our physical 
or mental energies to live ; for every one can set up 
for himself, independent of all monopolies or cliques. 
Yet it must not be overlooked that as long as the gen- 
eral price of products are too low, the universal price of 
farm lands must be so, too. Then plant yourself upon 
principle, — ascertain what a fair price is, and below 
this allow no man, under any pretence, to entrap you. 
Always remember that a sure way to exhaust your 
soil, is, to sell your labor or products below a reasonable 
price. Nothing else will do it ; this surely will. 

THE FARMERS* DAUGHTERS. 

I have had a good deal to say to the young men, but 
do not intend to neglect the young women. I presume, 
however, that if I can pursuade the young men to stay 
at home and learn to do something by which they can 
afford to set up a partnership, which recognizes no such 
word as fail ; the articles of agreement being written 
with ink indelible ; then I shall say the very best word 
I could say to the acceptance and advantage of that 
class, whom I noAv address. 

I intend to preface my remarks to the ladies by Intro- 
duclno; one of the statutes of the State. For althoujrh 
they have but little to do with making the laws, yet, in 
them they have an equal interest with the sterner sex ; 
and anything that has a special bearing upon a certain 
domestic institution in which they are seldom silent 
partners, of course it must interest them in no small 



THE FUTUEE. 353 

degree. Therefore, the ladies will please carefully read 
this law, for there is no knowing what may grow out 
of it. 

An Act relating to Farmers' Clubs. 
Be it enacted, &c., as follows : 

Sect. 1. The Secretary of the Board of Agricul- 
ture may appoint one or more suitable agents to visit 
various towns in this Commonwealth, under the direc- 
tion of the Board of Agriculture, for the purpose of ' 
inquiring into the methods and wants of practical hus- 
bandry, ascertaining the adaptation of products to the 
circumstances of soil, climate, markets ; encouraging 
the establishment of farmers' clubs, agricultural libra- 
ries and reading rooms, and of disseminating useful 
and valuable information by means of lectures and 
otherwise ; and it shall be the duty of such agents to 
make detailed reports annually in October, to the Sec- 
retary of the Board of Agriculture. 

Sect. 2. Every farmers' club, properly organized 
by the election of officers, and holding regular meet- 
ings of its members, shall, upon application made in 
November of each year to the Secretary of the Board 
of Agriculture, receive copies of the Report of said 
Board and of its other publications, in proportion to 
the number of its members, and of the applications so 
made ; and said farmers' clubs, receiving such benefits 
from the State, shall, annually, in October, make re- 
turns to the Secretary of the Board of Agriculture of 
the reports of committees, and of agricultural experi- 
ments made by such clubs. 

Sect. 3. A sum not exceeding two tJiousand dollars 
is hereby placed at the disposal of the Secretary of the 
Board of Agriculture to carry out the provisions of 
this act. [Approved April 0, 1859.] 

As a tax payer and citizen, I supposed I had a right 
to know what became of this money. I therefore 



354 FAEMING AS IT IS. 

penned a note to the Secretary, and here insert a copy 
of my letter : 

Chelmsford^ 3fass., July 4, 1860. 

Dear Sir : By an act of the legislature of 1859, 
the sum of $2,000 was placed at your disposal, to em- 
ploy suitable agents to visit various towns in this Com- 
monwealth, to disseminate useful and valuable infor- 
mation on agriculture, by means of lectures and other- 
wise, among the people. 

I fail to find in your recent report what action was 
had in this matter. 

Therefore, as I have nearly ready for the press a 
work expressive of my views of the influence all such 
moneys have upon the agricultural interests, I respect- 
fully address you this note, to inquire what disposition 
was made of the said grant? 

Please state how much of said money (if any,) was 
used, and to whom said money (if used,) was paid ? 

Also, please say if it was the design of the law that 
the agents should be taken from the "Board" of which 
you have the honor to act as Secretary ? 

A reply by return of mail would greatly oblige your 
friend and co-laborer, 

T. J. PiNKHAM. 

Chas. L. Flint, Esq., 

Secy State Board Agriculture, Boston. 

To this letter I get no answer.* Mr. Flint seems re- 
markably gifted with the faculty of keeping "mum," 
and possibly this is the sinequanon — ^)«r excellence — 
that to a remarkable degree makes his services as Sec- 
retary and servant of the people, so extremely val- 
uable. 

Therefore, I shall have to look round and see how it 

is with his agents. I find it. Now listen girls and you 

* See appendix. 



THE FUTURE. 355 

win learn what use was made of the money, unless I 
labor under a mistake. 

In the discussion of the subject upon which this book 
is written, viz., " Is there any profit in farming ? " be- 
fore the Legislative Agricultural Society, the Hon. 
Simon Brown, editor of the New England Farmer^ 
made these remarks : 

" He said he felt encouraged by the interest that 
was manifested in regard to the subject under discus- 
sion. Tavo things operated as a hindrance to good and 
pleasant farming ; one was, that agriculture was looked 
on as an unprofitahle employment, and the other, that 
it was not so respectable as other occupations. He had 
travelled extensively among the farmers of this State, 
and he knew that there was no better plan to find this 
out than by conference with women, and in conversing 
with them it will be found that nearly nine-tenths of 
the girls would prefer a man for a husband in almost 
any other business than that of farming. 

The question as to how farming may be made profit- 
able and pleasant is not merely of importance to us, 
but to those who are to succeed us : and in considering 
the matter, our first object is to secure happiness, and 
then profit." 

It seems that by these remarks of Mr. Brown, he 
has been round over the State consulting the girls 
about whom they " prefer for husbands," considering 
this, undoubtedly, one branch of agriculture. And it 
must be presumed, that in this department of the exam- 
ination, his industry should not be questioned, for he 
seems to be very accurate in his figures, and his labors 
must have been extensive, as he has arrived at the con- 
clusion that " nearly nine-tenths of the girls prefer a 



356 FABMING AS IT IS. 

man for a husband In almost any other business than 
that of farming." As he advises all young men to 
" stick to the farm," and when he knows from actual 
" conference," that the girls will not marry a farmer, 
preferring " single blessedness " to this, I hardly see 
how he can reconcile his philosophy with his pliilan- 
throphy, for by recommending the young men to " stick 
to the farm," knowing if they do so, increase must 
stop, which will have a direct influence on the market 
price of the products of these young men. Therefore, 
his friendship to the farmer must be feigned, or aU 
these girls would not so readily make a confidant of 
him, as to open their hearts upon so delicate a subject. 

At any rate, it must be presumed that the Legisla- 
ture, when they voted the $2,000 to send men over the 
State for " consultation," and to " disseminate useful 
and valuable information," they did not understand 
that this was the purpose, or their agent would have 
sent a younger man. 

On mature reflection, however, I cannot say that 
this money was unwisely spent ; for if what Gov. 
Brown says is true, that farming is so " unprofitable " 
and (dis)-"respec^a6Ze" that the "girls will not marry 
a farmer if they can help it," (knowing the keenness 
of perception and discriminating faculty of the gentler 
sex,) is it not one of the strongest arguments in favor 
of my position that could be instituted ? And if the 
money is not all absorbed, I would recommend one or 
two more tours round the State, which would settle 
all controversy in the matter ; and would further sug- 



THE FUTURE. 357 

gest whether it would not be well to Instruct the Gov- 
ernor, after consulting the girls in the parlors, to spend 
a few moments with the mothers in the kitchen. Pos- 
sibly he might there arrive at a solution of the prob- 
lem which seems to trouble him so much, and is so ex- 
pensive to the people. 

As a majority of the girls who marry at all must 
marry a farmer, and as only " ten per cent. " of them 
" prefer " this, perhaps the Governor can figure it up, 
how many marry in antagonism to their "preferences?" 

If the girls will read carefully the story of Mr. 
"Wiseman," in a previous chapter, I think they will 
there find a practical remedy for the evils that exist ; 
and if they can persuade their parents to put it in prac- 
tice, then their fond hopes will be realized. 

Further on in Mr. Brown's remarks, he makes use 
of this langfuage : — 

" The man is the most happy who has a farm of fifty 
acres, paid for^ with a house and necessary outbuild- 
ings on it, and with a little more than will make hoth 
ends meetJ'^ 

Those words in italics in the preceding, are sug- 
gestive of where the happiness comes from ; and let 
the word " Uttle " be construed liberally, and the man 
would be quite as " happy " without the " farm." 
These are the farmers — constituting one tenth part of 
the whole amount — it must be presumed, "who have 
a little more than will make both ends meet," that 
the girls do not object to " marrying." 

I do not see how any one can blame the girls for not 



358 FARMING AS IT IS. 

" preferring a man for a husband " who is a land farm- 
er, as long as they are under guardianship to the treas- 
ury farmers, who monopolize most of the good things 
of life, and by a kind of legerdemain, make the land 
farmers pay the bills. This Is what the girls have 
keenness enough to understand, and they well know 
that If a " kiss me quick and go" or a kiss me quick 
and stay, my dear, can only be enjoyed outside of 
farming circles ; then the Governor should have credit 
for one good thing, by bringing it to the consideration 
of the people. 

Perhaps our traveller said more than he intended, but 
all are aware of the softening influence of a " confer- 
ence with women," and it may not be out of the way 
here to suggest that the rest of the Board take a tour 
round the State., holding " conference with women," as 
the dear people would not in the least object to paying 
the bills. They are getting used to It. 

rOKEIGN DEGRADATION OF LABOR. 

I have several times in this work referred to the in- 
clination that many entertain in regard to foreign de- 
gradation of labor. It seems to me that we are run- 
ning directly Into a similar channel. And let us pur- 
sue this to Its finality, and how can we hope for any 
better result ? For, twenty-five or fifty years hence, 
when it costs Massachusetts half a million dollars to 
support the various machinery to which her Agricul- 
ture is subjected, then soup-houses and lodging-houses 
will have to be established all over the State ; and that 



THE FUTURE. 359 

although the State may be great and rich, the people 
will starve. As " straws show which way the wind 
blows," so the following will explain the tendency of 
things in this country. 

WHAT ENGLISn FARMERS WANT TO OOW. 

At a late meeting of the " Eoyal Agricultural So- 
ciety of England," the following list of prizes for Es- 
says was adopted. Possibly the re-publication of the 
subjects may furnish topics for brief dissertations to 
New England farmers, who, if they should miss the 
" sovereigns," might enjoy the satisfaction of having 
stirred the minds of others in the right direction. 

1. Fifty sovereigns for the best report on the agri- 
cultui-G of Berkshire. 

2. Twenty sovereigns for an approved Essay on the 
best period of the rotation, and the best time of year 
for applying the manure of the farm. 

3. Ten sovereigns for the best Essay on the altera- 
tions rendered advisable in the management of land of 
different qualities, by low prices of grain, and high 
prices of meat. 

4. Ten sovereigns for the best Essay on recent im- 
provements in dairy practice. 

5. Ten sovereigns for the best Essay on the proper 
office of straw on the farm. 

6. Ten sovereigns for the best Essay on the amount 
of capital required for the profitable occupation of a 
farm. 

7. Ten sovereigns for the best Essay on the condi- 
tions of seed best suited to the various agricultural 
crops. 

8. Ten sovereigns for the best Essay on the adulter- 
ation of agricultural seeds. 

9. Ten sovereigns for the best Essay on any other 
agricultural subject. 



360 FARMING AS IT IS. 

The following is taken from a speech by the Em- 
peror of Russia to the " serfs : " 

" Gentlemen : I shall begin by once more expressing 
my gratitude to the three governments of Lithuania, 
which instigated the discussion of this interesting ques- 
tion. I think it necessary to repeat to you, geutlcmpn, 
what the marshals who are among you have already 
learned from me. You are aware, gentlemen, how 
much this affair interests me, and how much it aifects 
my heart ; and I am certain that it is as dear to you as 
to me. I have but one object — the happiness of my 
empire, and I am convinced that you have no other. 
I desire that the improvement of the condition of the 
j)easants may shortly become an accomplished fact, and 
that this reform may be effected without violence. But 
this cannot be obtained without certain sacrifices on 
your part. My desire is to render these sacrifices as 
little onerous as possible to the nobility." 

I hope the reader will look these things carefully 
over, and see if there is any connection in the old coun- 
tries between the awards of their Agriculture and the 
fostering care of the Government. This may make the 
nation great by making the people poor ; but is it 
wise ? is it humane ? is it Christian ? Undoubtedly, 
to this cause more than any other, can the distinction 
between the people and the lords be traced. 

These are the things we want to avoid in this coun- 
try. For let them continue, increasing as they will, 
we have the one man power, building up an aristoc- 
racy, prostrating the people, and we have a democracy 
in name only. 



THE rUTL'ilE. 361 

MARKET DAYS. 

It is well known that a strong effort is being made 
to fix upon the people of this country, institutions sim- 
ilar to those long established in Europe and on the 
Continent. 

These market days have for a brief period been in 
operation here. That they have been a total failure in 
almost every instance, seems to be no reason for their 
relinquishment by the treasury farmers, as it furnishes 
additional reasons to bleed the people. 

By Mr. Flint's last report, it seems that the "Board" 
have raised a committee, consisting of Messrs. Fay, 
Davis and Sutton, to specially consider the subject, 
whose report Mr. Flint seems to have plenty room for, 
but could not find a place for informing the tax payers 
what become of the $2,000 placed at his "disposal" 
to supply " agents " to take the census of the mar- 
riageable females in the Commonwealth. 

As I briefly anayize this report, I want the reader 
to keep in mind with what pertinacity the endeavor is 
being made, to fasten the institutions of monarchical 
Europe upon the people of this country. 

The committee say, that, 

" Unlike most projects of amelioration and improve- 
ment, this involves no expense, and no working system 
or machinery, requiring money or time to put it in 
operation, and but little change in the existing order 
of things. It amounts simply to this : that the farmers 
of a neighborhood, larger or smaller in extent, accord- 
ing to circumstances, shall agree to meet together on 
certain days, and at certain places, for the disposal of 



362 FARMING AS IT IS. 

their agricultural products ; that instead of peddling 
them out as they do now, or selling to such chance 
customers as may come along, they will conduct their 
business generally with reference to these market 
days." 

As far as the practical operation of this system upon 
the farmers is, in nine cases out of ten, if a sale is 
eiFected at all, it will be at a greatly reduced rate. I 
know that some sales at these "fairs" have been made, 
but generally at the tail end of the day, and then by 
being auctioneered off, at about one-half or two-thirds 
of a fair price. This is what all farmers who have at- 
tended these " fairs," will tell you, if they have no 
" axe to grind." 

Again : — 

" These market days have been established for a 
long time over the continent of Europe, and all agri- 
cultural products are sold or bargained for upon these 
occasions. In England they have existed since the 
time of Alfred the Great ; and to their greater fre- 
quency and number in that country, may be ascribed, 
in a great measure, its sujieriority in the art of agri- 
culture over all other nations. They have made the 
English farmer a man of business as well as a mere 
cultivator of the soil. They have been the means, by 
bringing him constantly in contact with those engaged 
in the same pursuits with himself — each seeing what 
the others were doing — of spurring him on to improve- 
ment, and of preventing that isolation, the natural ten- 
dency of agricultural pursuits, which is the bane of all 
progress. One of the undersigned has resided in an 
agricultural district in England, and has familiarized 
himself by careful observation with the general system 
of English agriculture, and he could fintl nothing to 



THE FUTUEE. 363 

account for Its greater profitableness as compared with 
ours, except in the fact, that every farmer has a ready 
market close at hand for what he may produce, and 
the power of adapting his cultivation to the knowledge 
he has of his market." 

I want to ask my friend one or two questions in re- 
gard to some other things that he probably saw in his 
" residence " over the water, that he has forgotten to 
tell us about. 

Is there any such institution over there, the " rank 
and file " of which stands ready at the "tap" of the 
drum to " wheel into Hne," Mr. Fay ? Tell us all 
about this ; which institution dates furthest back, the 
" standing army," or the institution of serfs and lords ? 
Have these "market days, regulated by law," had any- 
thing to do with establishing these " institutions ? " 
Disband the English army, and how long would the 
nobles sustain the cheap luxury of " regular market 
days?" 

If those institutions of which you speak are for the 
best good of the people of our country, then liberty is 
a " humbug," — the Declaration of Independence a 
" farce," — the Revolutionary war a " cheat," and uni- 
versal inherent equality, a monstrosity. 

" Massachusetts is as favorably situated as England 
is for the establishment of markets." 

Did my friend, in his admiration of " British aris- 
tocracy," ever witness any of its necessary concomi- 
tants, " soup and lodging houses ? " Does he desire to 
establish such here ? If so, go on with your " market 



364 FARMING AS IT IS. 

days," and all the other "machinery," that you have 
seen over the water. Establish a standing army to 
keep the people in awe. Pile up the revenue till the 
taxes monopolize the industry of the citizens, keeping 
them in subjection by the " bayonet," at the " tap " of 
the drum. 

" The value of farming property depends very much 
upon its proximity to a quick and ready market, and 
hence it is that farms in the neighborhood of large 
cities bear so much higher prices than those which are 
remote. But even those most favorably situated in 
this respect would be benefited by regular market days. 
Even the little county of Middlesex, in England, of 
only half the size of our own county of the same name, 
with the city of London and its two milhon of inhab- 
itants in her borders, has five regular markets, besides 
the great ones at Smithfield and Covent Garden. So, 
too, notwithstanding the great manufacturing towns 
all over England, each a daily market of itself, yet 
every thirty-five thousand square acres of agricultural 
property in that favored region is blessed with regular 
market days. It is sometimes said that a man may 
walk through England, and attend a market fair every 
day in the year." 

The value of farm property is rapidly decreasing in 
the vicinity of all Ncav England cities but Boston, 
where it is only valuable for farming purposes. 

The sale of a farm is almost an impossibility, unless 
they are " knocked off " for a song, same as my friend 
of the committee's cows were at one of the " fairs," 
with which he is so much in love. And even at such 
prices, the purchaser will seldom get value received, 



THE FUTURE. 365 

unless the land farmers exercise freely the right of suf- 
frage, and vote the treasury farmers into retirement. 

" The industrial products of Massachusets are more 
than two hundred and ninety-six millions of dollars, of 
which forty-nine millions only come from the soil, in- 
cluding tAvo and one-quarter millions in stone, coal and 
marble, and in some countries the proportion of agri- 
cultural to industrial products is much less than is 
shown by the aggregate of State products. We have, 
therefore, a large and near home market for our agri- 
cultural products, — a market for much more than we 
raise ; and at higher prices to the consumer in the 
large towns and cities, than obtain in any quarter of 
the world." 

If any man outside of the Board of Agriculture 
should make such a statement as this, his wife would 
apply for a bill of divorcement, — A mensa et foro, — 
and she ought to have it, too, with alimony. 

I can hardly believe that my friend, Mr. Fay, penned 
the above paragraph, although I find his name attached 
to it. Absurd as his statements and philosophy are 
shown to be, yet this statement on the earnings of 
Massachusetts beats old England all hollow. 

The total valuation of all property in the State, in 
1850, was $597,936,995.46. 

I presume that every one knows that the system of 
agriculture in some of the old countries is very fine ; 
that they have all the machinery the committee tells 
us about, with a poor, half-starved, half-clad, ignorant, 
servile, wretched population. I saw it the other day 
on the arrival of a boat-load at the wharf in the great 



366 FARMING AS IT IS. 

citj. Specimens of the lowest grade of humanity, 
coated all over with filth and rags, with an intellect 
also besmeared with the fruits of centuries of cruel 
and unjust decrees, market-days, Boards of Agricul-* 
ture, &c. 

Witness the thousand specimens from these "market 
fairs," scattered all over our country. Like cause will 
in time produce like eflfect in the land of the pilgrims. 
But, do we want it ? I know our mushroom aristoc- 
racy, perhaps, by this system of policy, might grow 
into consequence, with a pack of blood-hounds at their 
heels ; but working-men of America, do you want it ? 
Do you want to sacrifice the future of our country, to 
the vain ambition of a few fortune hunters, who ape 
the glitter of foreign nabobs ? 

In a word, let me say to the farmers, shun market 
days as a pest, — as a great sore upon the body politic, 
— as a manoeuvre to cheat you of your rights. 

CATTLE DISEASE. 

Perhaps, for the future inspection of the people, it 
would be well here to state that the number of cattle 
killed and buried, hides, taUow and all, by our wise, 
sagacious, discreet, penetrating, fraternizing, treasury- 
farming fraternity, up to the assembling of the Pleuro- 
Legislature, was 842. To pay for all of these, would 
take $21,050, at $25 a head. 

But it will be seen by reference to the law * passed 
at the winter term of the Legislature, appropriating 
* Published on page 325. 



THE FUTURE. 867 

$10,000 for this purpose, that only those cattle were to 
be paid for that did not " appear " to be diseased. 
Therefore, as our city experts pronounced them mostly 
diseased, I hardly see how that the farmers whose 
herds have been scientijically slaughtered are going to 
reahze any great benefit directly from the speculation, 
out of the treasury, unless to keep them quiet and 
make the job as extensive as possible, the law is vio- 
lated, and they are hushed for a season, with the hope 
that the dear people having got used to it, are ready 
to bleed quite as freely as the bovine race whose rights 
have been violated. 

So completely had the " Board " fastened this out- 
rage upon the people, that at the Pleuro-Legislature 
of fourteen days duration, for which the members 
voted themselves $50 each, besides the scrapings, and 
to prove to the people their love of progress and in- 
dustry, they also placed in the hands of our scientific 
commissioners the snug little nest-egg of $100,000, as 
a memento of regard for their somewhat protracted in- 
cubations. 

What proportion of these various sums wdl finally 
go to the commissioners and their experts, at this time 
of writing I have no means of knowing. But, if we 
are taxed to the fullest extent of the appropriations, 
let me, in all kindness to all concerned, say, that this 
is but a drop in the bucket to the wrong we shall suf- 
fer. 'Tis true that our herds mainly remain upon our 
hands, but of what use are they ? Can we dispose 
of them or their products ? Our bills and liabilities 



338 FARMING AS IT IS. 

are to be met, and we must live. Our wives and chil- 
dren must be fed, clothed, go to church, schools, &c. 
All these cost money, and how shall we get it ? This 
is a question which our duty is to examine. It is true, 
we have our cattle, but is there any value attached to 
them ? We can keep them, perhaps, but is there any 
hope for the future ? Can we look upon a yoke of 
oxen or a cow, and say, these will meet the note that 
is coming due, or pay the Saturday night operatives ? 
Yes, our cattle will sell; but for what? Who can 
figure up the cost to the farmers of Massachusetts and 
New England, this outrage upon their interests ? 

CONCLUSION. 

I have now gone over the ground that I intended 
when I commenced this work, exceeding greatly my 
prescribed limits, but the subject is in no wise exhaust- 
ed ; in fact, it is but fairly opened. A volume might well 
be written on the late-named subject, viz : the principle 
involved in the foreign policy of degrading labor under 
the pretence of honoring it. 

We are doing no better here. Our country is new, 
and the people aiubitious. Far too many are too eager 
for the crumbs of office ; and as long as this is consid- 
ered more genteel than honest work, and the credulity 
of the people can be worked upon, being persuaded to 
believe that they were born to work, consigning all 
elie to those who preach one thing and practice another, 
talking about the dignity, the virtue, the happiness, and 
the cmolumency of labor, when they are doing all they 
can to degrade it, by taking from it its awards, encour- 



THE FUTURE. 8G9 

aging persistent toil, thereby destroying the mind of 
that keenness of thought which is ever watchful lest 
its rights should be invaded and liberty hampered. 
That those who manufacture our Agricultural litera- 
ature, write the books, make the speeches, print the 
papers, compile and translate works from foreign au- 
thors, are supposed to be honest and good men, being 
above any low or sordid inclination, free from any 
taint of cant op hypocrisy, is not the question. St. 
Paul thought he was doing " God's service, when per- 
secuting the Christians." 

The question is, whether these men are doing a good 
thing for the people ? In this light they and all others 
should view the matter ; for a bad man may do a good 
thing, and vice versa, a good man may do a had things 
This is placing the subject where it belongs. And 
that although through these pages I have spoken free- 
ly, I think honestly and truly, censuring where censure 
was due, and honoring where credit was due, yet I de- 
sire to make no enemies, entertaining no enmity to any, 
my only purpose being to place the industrial interest 
of which I have spoken, in its true light, believing truth 
to be better than error, and the good of a nation above 
that of a clique. 

The reader cannot have failed to notice the harmony 
and consistency of all the calculations that have been 
made, — the figuring, I think, is in harmony with the 
sentiment expressed, — the statistics of the State and 
country, with the calculations made, — the compara- 
tive value of labor in the East and West, the North 



370 FARMING AS IT IS. 

and South, — form labor and other labor, all harmonize 
with the expressed views, if I understand them. Hop- 
ing that a more comprehensive view of labor and the 
rights of the laborer, may be entertained, is the only 
desire of the writer. 

What the farmers now need is an organ through which 
they can express their views, and counteract the influ- 
ence that is disseminated by the various modes of fore- 
stalling public opinion, making the worse appear the 
better side. Let one or two truthful and ably conduct- 
ed papers be started, advocating the cause of the farm- 
er, against all the combination of professedly agricultu- 
ral journals and other bogus farming literature, having 
the cause of labor at heart, meeting, as they emanate 
from the press, aU those absurd and wild statements 
many of them coming professedly from the farmers, but 
without doubt being manufactured for the occasion, 
having no responsible source, but like the quack medi- 
cines of the day, being so labeled and puffed up, that 
the uninitiated are likely to be deceived. 

Such a paper or papers, if rightly conducted, ought 
to be supported, and that if the farmers desire such, 
believing that their cause is now falsely presented, and 
pertinaciously conducted to all who oppose them, there 
is no doubt that plenty of talent can be found to meet 
all that may be said on the other side, as all the statis- 
tics of the State and country are with this position. 

What i« wanted is to sej)arate all legislation from 
each and every industrial interest. Letting all the 
trades and labor interests stand upon their own merits, 



THE FUTURE. 371 

trusting to the law of supply and demand to meet the 
wants of the people. Believing all trades are best pro- 
tected when entirely unprotected, leaving all to look to 
their own energies, and not to the people's treasury for 
support. Repealing all laws that have a tendency to 
create distinction among the people, such as the wood 
law, and the sale of hay, and other agricultural com- 
modities. All National and State laws creating Boards 
of Agriculture, Agricultural Societies, appropriating 
the people's money, to the j)retended interest of any 
class, is wrong in principle, unwise in policy, unjust and 
unworthy of a free people. 

When agriculture pays better than other business, 
there will be enoun;h to enfraoe in it, and when it can- 
not be done at a profit, it is not worth doing. What 
the farmer wants to know is, hoAV to earn a living at his 
business, not how to produce a large surplus of com- 
modities ; and if let alone, this is what he can better 
do for himself than any one can teach him. For mind, 
thought, keenness of perception, mental activity and 
power, are never engendered by circumscribing the 
physical energies of the people, or contracting their 
mental capacities. 

QUESTIONS. 

The following questions, if presented with the right 
motive, may be discussed with profi^t in the field, the 
shop, and the club : 

1. Is there any antagonism between the various in- 
dustrial classes ? 



372 TARMING AS IT IS. 

2. Is It for the good of all other classes that the pro- 
ducts of the farm should be sold below their cost ? 

3. Should the farmer, in estimating the cost of his 
products, allow for the raw material, a per cent, on his 
capital, and pay for his labor ? 

4. To what extent can we crop the soil and not de- 
teriorate it ? 

5. Are farm products generally sold at a profit ? 

6. Is there as much plant food in animal manures 
as in the food the animal consumes ? 

7. Can the cost of an agricultural product be esti- 
mated ? 

8. Should the cost of an animal be estimated at the 
value of the food it consumes, the value of the labor to 
care for it, and interest on the investment ? 

9. Is it for the interest of the East that the people of 
the West should sell their products at the cost of their 
labor only ? 

10. Would the people have been poorer had 
there never existed any such thing as an Agricultural 
Society ? 

11. Is it the object of the prime movers of the vari- 
ous Agricultural Societies to benefit the producers or 
non-producers ? 

12. Is the Board of Agriculture a benefit to the 
people ? 

13. Is it right to appropriate the public ftmds for in- 
dividual purposes ? 

14. Is the buying up of the Concord River Mead- 
ows by the State, establishing a good or bad prece- 
dent? 



THE FUTURE. 373 

15, Have not other portions of the State as good a 
right to its bounty, as the owners of the meadows on 
Concord river ? 

13. Would an immediate disbandment of all Agri- 
cultural Societies, and the Board of Agriculture, be an 
injury to the farmers ? 

17. Is the Agricultural press a benefit to the farm- 
ers ? 

18. Have the farmers as good a right to a profit on 
their goods as other classes ? 

19. Should a farmer team his products to market, or 
sell them at home ? 

20. Is it for the farmer's interest to increase or di- 
minish the supply of farm products ? 

21. Would the natural law of supply and demand 
regulate the agricultural interest, better than any legis- 
lation can ? 

22. If the agricultural interest of the country was 
left to the law of supply and demand, would a famine 
be likely to ensue from this cause ? 

23. What is the cost to the people to support the 
various Agricultural Societies, Board of Agriculture, 
and the Agricultural press ? 

24. Are any of the statute laws unjustly burdensome 
to the farmers ? 

25. Has the law making it obligatory on the farmer 
to employ an expert to measure or weigh his products, 
or any portion of them, a tendency to degrade him ? 

26. If the farmer is incompetent, or so dishonest as 
to be unfit to measure or weigh his products, Is the law, 
or his capacity or integrity, at fault ? 



374 TARMING AS IT IS. 

27. Is a person, in buying a load of wood or hay, 
nioi*e likely to get cheated, than in purchasing a coat, 
pair of .shoes, or settling a doctor's or lawyer's bill ? 

23. Would any other class of people submit to thg 
many legal annoyances of the farmer ? 

23. If farm labor is as well rewarded as other labor, 
why is there more pauperism, more insanity, and moi'e 
suicides among this class than any, or all others, ac- 
cording to numbers ? 

80. If the girls prefer being married to any other 
class of men than farmers, what is the cause ? 

31. Can a man earn a comfortable living at farming, 
by his labor ? 

32. If public agricultural exhibitions are for the 
farmer's good, why do the city folks contribute liberally 
to institute them ? 

33. If the legislature should discontinue making ap- 
propriations for what is termed to " promote agricul- 
ture," would the farmers particular friends continue 
tlieir friendship ? 

34. If a general discussion of any of these various 
questions would have an evil tendency, which are those 
questions ? 

35. Is it for the farmer's interest to produce small 
crops at a profit, or large ones at a loss ? 

36. If our people ever lose their independence, what 
will be the probable cause ? 

37. Should a Board of Agriculture be composed of 
professional men, money brokers and treasury farmers ? 

38. Would the establishment of a Farmers' Journal 
be a eood thino; ? 



THE FUTURE. 375 

39. Has the importation of foreign breeds of cattle, 
horses and other stock, been a benefit to our people ? 

40. Can we export agricultural products without 
either deteriorating the soil, or making paupers of the 
people ? 

41. Is not the exodus of the young men from the 
farming districts, prima facie evidence of the unprofit- 
ableness of farming ? 

42. Is the circulation of the stories by the Secretary 
of the Board of Agriculture, in his I'eports, in regard 
to the farmers making several hundred per cent, profit 
on their crops, doing a good or bad thing for them ? 

43. Do those farmers who make those statements re- 
fered to in question No. 42, do it for the good of the 
cause, — to see their name in j)rint, — to gratify their 
vanity, or to obtain a premium ? 

44. If a premium were offered to those mechanics 
who could make the largest per cent, on their work, 
and they should present quite as extraordinary cases as 
the farmer does, would that prove anything ? 

45. If a farmer in making a statement to obtain a 
premium, should claim that the material of which his 
crops are made costs nothing, should he obtain that 
premium ? 

46. Does the last statistics taken by the United 
States reveal the fact that the mechanics earn more 
than three times as much as the farmers in this State, 
according to numbers, by their labor ? 

47. Did the statement of Hon. R. S. Fay, in a public 
lecture, that if the hay crop of Massachusetts were in- 



376 FARMING AS IT IS. 

creased five times, it would not reduce the value of the 
article, shoAv tliat he understood what he was talkino- 
about ? 

48. If there had never been any special legislation 
in regard to agriculture -in this country, would the 
farmers and the farming interest have been more on an 
equality with other interests ? 

49. Is it not the only hope of the farmer to establish 
trade and manufactures in their midst ? 

50. If all agricultural products were sold at a small 
per cent, above their cost, reckoning fairly, would pau- 
perism, insanity and suicides, greatly decrease ? 

51. Can any other New England State present a 
better view of its agricultural Interests than Massachu- 
setts, and if so, what is the cause ? 

52. Is agriculture more degraded in those States and 
countries where its interests have been specially an ob- 
ject of legislation ? 

53. tias the i^tato rot been a damage to the farmer 
or any other class of men ? 

54. Would a remedy for the potato rot be a national 
blessing or a calamity ? 

55. Would Market Fairs throughout the country, 
help the farmers? 

56. Should all farmers keep their products at home 
tm sold ? 

57. If the State should again go to slaughtering cat- 
tle, would it be advisable to employ green hands or 
journeymen butchers ? 

58. Is it good or bad husbandry to kUl and bury 
stock, hides, horns and all ? 



THE FUTURE. 377 

59. Has the Board of Agriculture been any more 
successful at butchering, than farming at Westboro' ? 

60. When the products of industry become so cheap 
that honest and persistent labor fails to supply the rea- 
sonable demands of life, is a remedy to be sought for 
by an increased or diminished supply ? 



APPENDIX. 



Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 

Agricultural Department. 
State House, Boston, 11 July, 1860. 

Dear Sir : I owe you an apology for my few days 
delay in replying to your favor of the 4tli, which did 
not come to hand, by the way, till Friday last. I have 
been absent on business a part of the week, and my 
office is up in arms with painters, &c., in the midst of 
spring cleaning. I am glad to hear of your progress 
in the work of which you informed me some time since. 
I shall welcome its appearance, and have no doubt it 
will be the means of great good. 

With regard to the question as to the success of the 
legislation for farmers' clubs, I would say that the ap- 
propriation was not made till just at the close of the 
Legislature of '59, and that no steps were taken dur- 
ing the summer following, as the operations of all clubs 
were suspended at that season. The Board appointed 
a committee to consider the subject, and their report, 
and the circular sent out for information, are given on 
pp. 128, 129, of my last lieport. The lieport went 
to press too early in the winter to enable me to get any 
fuller statement of wha.t had been done. I think the 
plan has given very wide satisfaction, and been the 
means of waking up a wide-spread interest. But a 
small part of the appropriation has, as yet, been spent, 
as but very small pay ($5 a visit and lecture,) is al- 



380 APPEi^Dix. 

lowed. The agents are not, by any means, confined to 
the Board of Agriculture. In many cases, a club (in 
most cases, in fact,) requests to have a particular man 
sent, like Gov. Brown, for instance, or some other, and 
then, if consistent, I have complied with their wishes. 

I have great confidence that this will be the means 
of doing a great deal of good, as it certainly is very 
rapidly multiplying the number of clubs all over the 
State. Very truly your obedient servant, 

Charles L. Flint, Sec, 

T. J. PiNKHAM, Chelmsford. 

The above letter from Mr. Flint, is in reply to my 
note published on page 353. It is proper here to state 
that I delayed my book a little in hopes to obtain this 
reply. My letter was mailed on the 4th of July, and 
I delayed closing up the book till the 14th, supposing 
then, I should not receive this favor. Had I have 
known, however, that he was so very busy doing up 
his spring cleaning, (mid-summer^^ I should have been 
less in a hurry. However, I see nothing in the letter 
but what corroborates my remarks, excepting, he did 
reply, but did not answer my interrogatories. By the 
way, this letter is dated the 11th, and post-marked the 
13th, two days after. 

I want all Avho read this book to read this letter, and 
I regret that I am obliged to publish it as an Appen- 
dix. 

The Secretary says that only " $5.00 a visit and lec- 
ture is allowed." That is cheap, certainly. Then the 
$2,000 will pay for 400 visits. What an amount of 
" good " will be accomplished. The thought forces it- 
self upon my mind to suggest, that the price be raised 



APPENDIX. 381 

to $10.00 a visit, as this would command a different 
grade of talent, if not a higher. 

And then this thought occurs to my mind : Why is 
it that those who are not farmers, consent to being 
taxed to pay these bills ? They not only consent to it, 
but, rather, do they not urge it ? Are they not the 
men who lobby these appropriations through the Leg- 
islature ? They are pretty smart men, — understand 
tolerable well what they are about, — know when and 
where the shoe pinches, and yet are anxious to be taxed 
to send city experts into the rural districts, at five or 
even ten dollars a " visit," and what is their motive ? 
Look to it, farmers. Ask yourselves this question: 
Why do they do it ? 

A writer from the town of Ashburnham, in this State, 
to the ISf. E. Farmer^ says that thirty of the best farms 
are lying vacant, — tenantless. No one wants them. 
The " buildings, fences, &c., are going to decay," — the 
" fields are growing up to brush and briars." The 
" citizens are leaving every year for sections that are 
not cursed with the burden of excessive legislation." 
What is true of Ashburnham in this particular, is true 
of most farming towns ; perhaps, however, not all to 
that extent. Yet, this is a good farming town, — the 
crops are among the highest average in the State, ex- 
cepting their mowing lands. 

He does not agree with me that farmino; is not 
a paying business, generally, and thinks that were 
it not for the high taxes they could get along. Our 
taxes are much too high, — t4iere is no doubt of that. 



382 APPENDIX. 

This is not the principal cause of the calamity, how- 
ever, for we submit to being taxed by designing 
men, to dictate our earnings, to control public opinion, 
to monopolize our industry, and keep down the price 
of our goods to a level that admits of but little return 
for labor performed. Of course, as long as this state 
of things exist, farms will become vacant, mortgages 
will increase, — those who have invested in farms will 
suffer, industry will be paralyzed, panics and distress, 
excepting at brief periods, will be the order of the 
day, liberty will be hampered, and the principles of our 
fathers, among the things that were. This writer 
was abused for saying what he did, — told that "he 
must have written in a fit of the blues," &c. 

I expect the same from Maine to Georgia, for writing 
this book. I care nothing, however, for the opinion 
of this class of men, but, for the opinion of all work- 
ing men, I do care. As far as I am right, I ask to be 
sustained. My errors, I shall be most happy to cor- 
rect, — honorable criticism, I court ; free discussion is 
the bulwark of liberty. Tyrants fear it, — wickedness 
shuns it, — the enslavers of a people smooth and slick 
it over. 

" He who feels the halter draw. 
Has a i^oor opinion of the law." 

" I shaU welcome its appearance, and have no doubt 
it will be the means of doing good." 

This is the language of my friend, the Secretary. 
For that purpose alone, I have written. And if it 



APPENDIX. 383 

does one half the good it ought to, my friend, and all 
of like ilk, will take the hint, resign their commissions, 
allow the la,nd farmers to prosecute in their own way, 
the trade of their choice, save the treasury from unjust 
speculations, the people of a burden, and Monarchy of 
an unanswerable argument against the freedom of 
America, and the folly of inherent liberty. 

Again : " The agents are not, by any means, con- 
fined to the Board of Agriculture." 

Have any others been employed ? This was the 
idea I wished to convey in my note. Does the Board 
presume to monopolize all the useful talent of the 
State, in Agricultural matters ? • 

Once more : " I have great confidence that this will 
be the means of doing a great deal of good, as it cer- 
tainly is very rapidly multiplying the number of clubs 
over the State." 

That is a good thing, truly. Multiplying clubs all 
over the State. For this purpose, I have introduced 
many questions at the close of this book, each and all 
of which, may well be presented for discussion, as hav- 
ing a direct bearing upon the present and future pros- 
perity of the country. 

Farmers, generally, have not the " gift of gab " very 
largely developed, yet, if we can manage to keep clear 
of those Boston " talking machines," and the treasury 
of the V's and X's to encourage them, I honestly be- 
lieve that " great good " will be the result. You know 
how it is, those agents will talk a farmer " bhnd " in a 
little while, set the women all agog by their " confer- 



384 APPENDIX. 

ences," keep down the price of the farmers' toil by 
sophistry, and hasten those halcyon days when the 
people become serfs, and the treasury peculators their 
masters. 

According to your published accounts of the farm- 
ing operations at Westboro', they do not show a high 
degree of skill in the business, nor a great amount of 
honest integrity. For, while on the one hand, you en- 
courage a compensation for labor that will not meet 
the most prudent wants of life ; on the other, you fix a 
fancy and unreasonable price upon the products of that 
labor. 

If a well-grown boy cannot earn " five cents a day " 
and find himself, at farm labor, should a bull calf pro- 
duced by that labor, be worth $100 ? These are your 
figures. One is as unreasonable as the other. If the 
State, in her corporate capacity, was going to set up 
farming to introduce and establish a correct system in 
the business, all extremes should be avoided. A fair 
compensation for labor should be encouraged, and a 
fair compensation for the products of that labor only, 
should be demanded. This, alone, could be fairly 
termed good farming. 

It is just as wrong to require an unreasonable profit 
on an article, as it is to produce the article at a price 
that allows an inadequate compensation for the labor 
to make it. What is now wanted is to ascertain for 
what sum agricultural products can be produced, al- 
lowing for the per cent, on the capital, and suitable 
wages, with all the etc., to make them. When this is 



APPENDIX. 385 

ascertained, then all good men should encourage and 
sustain these prices. If this system had been adopted 
at Westboro', then the tax upon the treasury would 
have been less objectionable. But the entire reverse 
of this was instituted. For while, in order to make 
the thing appear plausible to the public, fancy and fic- 
titious prices are established. Thus, no prudent farmer 
or cattle dealer could afford to take the stock of cattle 
at the prices fixed upon them in the schedule, at more 
than forty cents on the dollar. This may deceive the 
public, and help to crowd bills through the Legisla- 
ture to appropriate money for the indulgence of a few ; 
but is it rio[ht ? 

I want you to understand me, that it is not essen- 
tially the direct tax upon the people (although this Is 
wrong,) of which I complain ; but it is the fact of this 
money being used to reduce the price of our labor or 
the products of that labor, (which is the same thing,) 
to an uncertain, fluctuating standard, that allows of no 
adequate compensation, and is fast reducing the value 
of our investments, creating an apathy among the 
people, and distrust, uncertainty, and want of confi- 
dence in community. This is not all ; it is building 
up an imbecile aristocracy in the country, who fasten 
upon the public chest, which will in the end subvert 
the genius of American principles, and degrade labor 
and the laborer, under the false pretence of honoring 
it, and them. 

The reason I dwell upon this idea is, it is the only 
branch of our government that is aiming a direct blow 



£86 APPENDIX. 

at the liberty and freedem of our people. Her indus- 
try should be free, untrammelled, unpolluted, uncon- 
trolled by public or private munificence ; earning ac- 
cording to the tastes, inclination, habits, and intelli- 
gence of those who labor. For if at any time one 
branch of industry becomes less remunerative than 
others, the sagacity of the people will soon establish 
that equilibrium among the trades, if no outside influ- 
ences are thrown around them ; and any other system 
will in the end subvert those principles we love to 
cherish. 

Thus you plainly see how I look upon the whole 
matter, and will excuse language that would ordinarily 
be considered impolitic, if not indecorous. Therefore, 
I have used such language and arguments as seemed 
to me best adapted to arouse public and general inter- 
est and attention, in a matter which I deem of such 
vast importance. For you are paralyzing the industry 
of a nation, and striking an irredeemable blow at 
American liberty. This can in no light be viewed as 
an innocent, harmless or justifiable position, occupa- 
tion, or profession. 

I want to thank you for this favor of the 11th inst., 
and must say that I exceedingly regret that you did not 
deem my other note of sufficient importance to have 
merited a reply. For as this favor has furnished me 
much argument sustaining my position, then a reply 
to the other, if sustaining your published declar- 
ations, would have been of much more importance, as 
showing how utterly futile all such puny arrangements 
are, as accomplishing the end professed, 



do i APPENDIX. 

Whenever the administration of the laws of a people 
have a tendency to subvert the fundamental principles 
of the Government, and tend to the degradation of the 
governed, then it is the right and duty of the people to 
institute such measures as will tend to place them upon 
their original position, and bring to mind the original 
compact, that the institutions which they love to honor 
and cherish, may be preserved in their purity. When 
a long train of abuses, pursuing invariably the same 
object, evinces a design to reduce the inherent rights 
of the masses to the condition of serfs, then it is the 
right of the people to throw off the burden, and estab- 
lish that equality which alone will preserve all that is 
dear to a free, intelligent, and Christian people. 



INDEX. 



A 

A. B., TheBarre Correspondent 192 

Action of the Board in 173 

Action in relation to 326 

Agricultural College 323 

Agricultural Warehouses ... 336 

Agricultural Societies '. . 15 

Agricultural Exhibition 16 

Analysis of Oats 119 

Analysis of Manure. 114 

Analysis of Wheat 113 

Amount of Manure of a Cow 115 

Amount of Grain in the Country 258 

Anecdote of a King «. 339 

A new Agricultural Society 81, 82, 83 

Antagonism of Industry 54 

Appropriations of the Legislature 58 

Autographs S6 

B 

Banks, Governor 306 

Bible Injunction 177 

Board of Agriculture 47, 145 

Boutwell George S., His Letter 201 

Brown, Simon, " " 198 

" " refuses to publish 169 

C 

Census of Marriageable Females - 355 

Concord River Meadows 194 

Corn and other Crops, by S 185 

Cost of Oats 119 



390 INDEX. 

Cost of an Acre of Com yso 

Cost of Farm Products 242 

Cost of Hay, Corn, Wheat, Carrots 255 

Cost Table of Products - 274 

Cost of Marketing 279 

Cost of a Pair of Boots 319 

Cost of Shoeing a Horse 343 

Cost of Wheat 116 

Columbus and his Outfit 257 

Clashing of Sections 281 

Contemplation of the Law Ill 

Crocodile Tears 99 

D 

Degradation of Capital and Lator 54 

Degradation of Labor 358 

Disjjosing of Farm Products 276 

Difficulty at the West 282 

Doty of Young Men 303 

£ 

Earnings of Farms 281, 322 

Earnings of Massachusetts 129, 130 

Earnings of States 318 

Earnings of Wisconsin t 127, 128 

Enactments of the l^leuro-Legislature 240 

Emerson Ed., His Talk 174 

Experiments in Agriculture 66, 75 

Experiments in Calves 84, 88 

Exjierts 277 

Experiment in Wheat Raising 102 

Exhibition of 1860 98 

F 

Fay R. S., His Letter 198 

" " and the Hay Crop 100 

Farmers' Oi-gan 307 

" Earnings in Massachusetts, Vermont and Wisconsin 127 — 131 

" Daughters 352 

Flint, C. L., Ilis Lecture 348 

" " How he Uses Money 352 

" *' Letter, (see Appendix) 

Future of America 338 



INDEX. 391 

H 

Hay and Grass Crop of the Country 101 

Hapijiness Defined 26 — 28 

Habits of Youth 305 

How the Farmers Live 229 

Hopkinton, and How to Raise Carrots 141 — 143 

Holbrook F., His Letter 328 

How to Tell What to Do 344 

I 

Industry of Carlisle and Natick 34—38 

Inhabitants of This and Other States 44 

Inquiries 333 

J 

Jubilee Year , by Governor Brown 239 

L 

Laws, Customs, &c., 221 

Law and Cattle Disease 325 

Letter to Farmers 197 

" "C.L.Flint 353 

Loss of Manure, 64 

Loriug Dr. , His Letter 202 

Looseness of Farming 346 

M 

Market Days 360 

Marketing 276 

Massachusetts, Society Formed 15 

Meeting at the State House 81 

Members Constituting the Board of Agriculture 60 

Men who Fail in Lynn 342 

Merriam, H. C, His Ideas 186 

Message of Gov. Banks 307 

Minus, Mrs. Minus, John and Jim 131 

N 

Neat Stock • 260 

No Profit in Farming 283 

New Braintree and Her Industry 204 




392 INDEX. 

Number Agricultural Societies 25 

" " Exhibitions 59 

" " " Massachusetts and Illinois 274 

•• Farmers in New England 289 

" Cattle in the State 100 

*' Bushels Grain in the United States 107 

" Men who Fail 340 

O 
Oppression at the West 273 

P 
Panic at the West 21 

Pau erism, Insanity, Idiocy 31 — 40 

Peopling the Poor-houses 304 

Poor and Good Farming 237 

Price of Cows 108 

Premiums at the State Fair 95 

Production at the Farm at Westboro' 64 

Pro fit of Farming 16 

Profit and Per Cent 234 

Philosophy of Agriculture 258 

Policy of England 362 

Profits of an Oat Crop 92 



Questions in Arithmetic 179 

Questions, &c. , for Agricultural Clubs 182 

Questions for the People 369 

R 

Raw Material Defined 52 

Revised Statutes 223 

Reply to Mr. Emerson 178 

Revolution in C 279 

S 

Schedule of Property at the Farm at Westboro' 75 

Secretary Flint in account with the State 77 

Serfs of Europe 365 

Sherman, B. F., and His Address 138 

Speech of the Emperor of Russia 359 



INDEX. 393 

Statement on the Cost of Rye 117 

" Corn 120 

" by the Author 149—1^2 

Straw for a Hen's Nest 93 

State Fair 94- 98 

T 

The First Convert 210 

The Farmers' Duty 280 

The Farmer a Merchant 287 

The Farmers' Sons 290 

The Institutions of the Old Countries 102 

The Philosophy of Growth 105 

The Position of a Blacksmith 349 

The Shoemaker and the Farmer 103 

The Young and Disgusted Farmers 90 

V 

"Value State Property at Westboro' 63 

Valuation of Wisconsin 128 

Valuation of Farm Property in Massachusetts 245 

W 

Want of Confidence in Farmers 284 

AVages of Labor and the Professions 56 

Webster, Daniel 290 

What Deteriorates Land 351 

What the Farmers Want to Know 101 

What the Young Men Would Do 292 

What English Farmers Want 358 

Wiseman and His Family 293 

When and How Fancy Farmers Dine 97 



C 



J^n '/i 18f)! 



3477 



UBRARV OF CONGRESS 



003 0061! 



